OPEN FORUM tax reLieF in hawaii iSn’t JuSt aFFordaBLe, it’S vitaL
JULY 6, 2024
SPORTS CORNER SaMantha Catantan’S exCiting Journey to the PariS oLyMPiCS
AS I SEE IT the Story Behind CaLiFornia’S BeSt CheF: CheF Maynard oF Kuya Lord reStaurant
BIBLE REFLECTIONS Finding the true Lover oF My SouL
The concept of Filipino empowerment has been seriously talked about since the late 1980s and early 1990s with a historic “symbolic” breakthrough in the election of Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1994. It was symbolic because Filipino empowerment then had yet to advance.
At the time, statistical well-being measures showed Filipinos still grossly lagging in education, entrepreneurial enterprises, income, homeownership, health, etc. relative to other ethnic groups in Hawaii. Discrimination, unfair and unfounded stereotypes still were rampant. Role models in many sectors of society were few and hard to find except for a handful of pioneering unicorns.
Today, impartial statistics measuring well-being of Filipinos –indicators of empowerment -- in various categories show marginal but distinct improvements. There’s less discrimination. Gross stereotypes of Filipinos have dissipated. Filipinos are more educated and have their presence in most sectors of society. Role models are increasingly plentiful. It’s reasonable to say many individual Filipinos have shattered the proverbial glass-ceiling -- certainly in politics, government and media. Still, there is room for vast improvement.
Why must we still look back at that turning point when Cayetano got elected?
Today, many Gen Zs don’t even know who Cayetano is or the struggle that the Filipino community then passionately fought for.
We must go back to that turning point in the 1990s to see what we did right – organizing and unifying our community.
The younger generations should know that many of the individual and personal advances among Filipinos over the years didn’t just happen in a bubble. Rather, it was through the efforts of organizing and political pressure, through scholarships, mentorships, patronizing of Filipino-owned businesses; and because of Filipinos who’ve made it giving back to the community.
The young generation takes for granted the Baby boomers and Gen X Filipinos who organized to bloc vote during the 1990s that brought about fairer representation of our community in politics and government. Bloc voting also put into office politicians – Filipinos and non-Filipinos -- who worked to ensure policies advancing social equity to be implemented which benefited our community.
They also don’t understand the powerful role ethnic media, the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle included, played in pressuring mainstream media to properly and fairly report on our community, as well as brought to the forefront distinguished role models and our community’s concerns and issues. Such efforts raised our community’s image, instilled confidence among our youth to excel and highlighted our needs.
Clearly, there is strength in numbers, numbers that we already have as the largest “ethnic” group and second largest group (behind Whites) in the state. But that advantage has not been harnessed to a degree of achieving our full potential.
For example, in politics, in the 2022 election our community squandered a golden opportunity to finally have Filipino representation in the U.S. Congress. That already has happened on the mainland with the election of Filipinos to Congress in other states. How is it then that in Hawaii with our massive numbers we are still chasing that elusive representation?
Are we moving in the wrong direction? Today there’s disconnection to each other among younger Fi-
Publisher & Executive Editor
ach election year we revisit the concept floated around in our community since the 1990s of “Filipino Empowerment” -- looking at the latest available statistics on Filipinos in education, employment, income, poverty level, health, etc. We also identify the most recent challenge in our community since the last election cycle, this time, it’s the ongoing recovery of Maui Filipinos devasted by the wildfires. Given the enormous impact politics have on community empowerment, as usual we examine the latest in voter turn among Filipinos.
In our cover story this issue, associate editor Edwin Quinabo looks into all these indicators of Filipino empowerment. When it comes to voter turnout, unfortunately 2022 followed an old pattern of low Filipino turnout relative to other ethnicities. Get the details in the article. As usual on this reporting on Filipino empowerment, we’ve assembled an interesting mix of Filipinos in our community who gave us some insightful feedback from the need to enhance voter turnout, end crab mentality, offer our youth leadership training and rebrand the importance of community to the younger generation. We hope this article will be both informative and inspirational for our current leaders and youth to further strengthen Filipino empowerment.
One aspect of empowering our community has been through scholarships. This issue we have a feature on our own Hawaii Filipino Chronicle scholarship program that is currently on pause but has already awarded $10,000 in journalism scholarships to deserving college students of Filipino ancestry.
Presenting stories of role models is yet another means to empower our community, particularly our youth. This issue HFC columnist Elpidio Estioko submits “The Story Behind California’s Best Chef: Chef Maynard of Kuya Lord Restaurant.” Estioko interviewed this accomplished chef on winning the prestigious California’s Best Chef this year by the James Beard Foundation Awards last month. Like the Filipino-American who earlier won California Teacher of the Year who Elpidio also interviewed, Chef Maynard was born and raised in the Philippines. Read this fascinating story of how he went from being a line cook to one of the nation’s top chefs.
In sports, we have another feature written by HFC sportswriter Dylan Bothamley, MD, on Samantha Catantan who qualified to compete for the Philippines at the upcoming Paris Olympics. This year the Philippines has its largest contingent of athletes to be competing in the Olympics. We wish Samantha and all our Filipino athletes competing much success.
On politics, we have two articles: HFC columnist Will Espero contributes “Presidential Standards and Loyalty” and HFC columnist Emil Guillermo submits “Post-Debate Panic? Biden Gets Up and Keeps Fighting, But Should He Leave Race?”
Also, this issue we have important news on the Biden’s administration’s new program that will protect undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have resided in the U.S. for 10 or more years from being deported. It gives the undocumented a chance to apply for legal status without having to leave the country.
Lastly, we have a story in our Bible Reflection on Shane Matanga, a single mother who turned her life around -- from living the fast life, doing recreational drugs and being a mistress to a married man -- to finding Jesus and living a spiritually anchored lifestyle.
Be sure to read our other interesting columns and news. Visit thefilipinochronicle.com to get your free digital copy of the Chronicle. Thank you to all our supporters and readers. Until the next issue, Aloha and Mabuhay!
lipinos, which is the antithesis of community. There’s this notion of personal advancement without thought of rising together. Our younger generation are alienated from our inherited culture that worked as a binding force which strengthened our sense of community.
Not only should our younger generation look back to the 1990s. But go back even further to learn about the sacrifices made by our sakadas (imported labor from the Philippines) who arrived in 1906 through 1946. During that time an estimated 125,000 Filipinos were
(continue on page 3)
Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D.
Publisher & Managing Editor
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido
Associate Editors
Edwin QuinaboDennis Galolo
Contributing
Editor
Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.
Design
Junggoi Peralta
Photography
Tim Llena
Administrative Assistant
Lilia Capalad
Editorial & Production Assistant
Jim Bea Sampaga
Columnists
Carlota Hufana Ader
Rose Cruz Churma
Elpidio R. Estioko
Willie Espero
Perry Diaz
Emil Guillermo
Gary Hooser
Arcelita Imasa, M.D.
Seneca Moraleda-Puguan
J.P. Orias
Charlie Sonido, M.D.
Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.
Contributing Writers
Clement Bautista
Edna Bautista, Ed.D.
Teresita Bernales, Ed.D.
Sheryll Bonilla, Esq.
Dr. Dylan Bothamley
Serafin Colmenares Jr., Ph.D.
Linda Dela Cruz
Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand
Amelia Jacang, M.D.
Caroline Julian
Max Levin
Raymond Ll. Liongson, Ph.D.
Federico Magdalena, Ph.D.
Matthew Mettias
Maita Millalos
Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D.
Renelaine Bontol-Pfister
Seneca Moraleda-Puguan
Mark Lester Ranchez
Jay Valdez, Psy.D.
Glenn Wakai
Amado Yoro
Philippine Correspondent:
Greg Garcia
Neighbor Island Correspondents:
Big Island (Hilo and Kona)
Grace LarsonDitas Udani
Kauai
Millicent Wellington
Maui
Christine Sabado
Big Island Distributors
Grace LarsonDitas Udani
Kauai Distributors
Amylou Aguinaldo
Nestor Aguinaldo
Maui Distributors
Cecille PirosRey Piros
Molokai Distributor
Maria Watanabe
Oahu Distributors
Yoshimasa Kaneko
Shalimar / Jonathan Pagulayan
Advertising / Marketing Director
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido
Account Executives
Carlota Hufana Ader
JP Orias
The jury of public opinion is final: President Joe Biden’s reelection bid has capsized, and he must be replaced if the Democratic Party wants to stop Donald Trump and save democracy. Never before in modern American politics has Democrats been hedging on their own party leader as they have been on Biden in his second run.
Biden won the Primary election? You argue. But that wasn’t a primary. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) made sure no other viable candidate ran against an incumbent president seeking reelection. Democratic primaries were not even held in some states.
Biden was never popular among grassroots Democrats – certainly not among non-politician progressives going into this election, but rather had been propped up by the establishment apparatus of elected officials and insiders forcing down Biden’s candidacy to keep their own positions of power and elected office.
It’s been a classic “get in line” and “wait your-turn” syndrome Washington elites like to play wherein the anointed one of the donor class and establishment do the choosing who they want to lead, and not the grassroots voting constituency.
recruited from the Ilocos and Visayas regions of the Philippines to work the sugarcane fields for the Hawaii Sugar Planters’ Association. They set the foundation for us being in Hawaii in the first place.
We should also go back and recognize the cradle of community-building in Hawaii when Filipino men signed up to fight in World War II which gave many of them the opportunity to stay in Hawaii. Some who joined the U.S. military married Filipinas and brought them back to the U.S. It was the start of the first real Filipino community in Hawaii. Then in 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act allowed for even more Filipinos to immigra-
It’s BLUE MAGA, cultish and corrupt.
Going into the presidential debate, politicos already knew it was to be a make-orbreak moment for Biden. The donors have been ignoring the results of both national and battleground polls that had Biden losing not just in a head-to-head match against Trump but losing in a three-way with RFK Jr in the mix. They’ve been wishing on a star in Biden, but that star just crashed.
It’s likely, that before the debate it was already decided if Biden did not shine, the donors would bolt. The brouhaha following the debate -- corporate media’s sudden recognition of “panic” among Democrats -really meant, panic has set in among donors. Why? Because grassroots Dems have been waving red flags and been in panic mode for almost a year now and were largely ignored. But when donors panic, like what we’re seeing, that will draw headlines and shape a new narrative. That’s how it works.
The NYT/Sienna College Poll, June 28 to July (the debate was on June 30th) posed the question if the election were held today, who would you vote for – 49% of likely voters would vote for Trump, 43% for Biden, and among registered voters, 49% would vote
te and bring family to Hawaii which further entrenched a real sense of community in Hawaii.
Compared to the last election when our community squandered a golden opportunity as mentioned above, this election cycle there are no real viable Filipino candidates to rally behind in the big-ticket races. We need the younger generation to step up. But the entry level political races like in the state House is important this election cycle to set a stronger foundation for the future. What we can do in this cycle is to organize for the next election. Our voter turnout is essential and sends a message that
for Trump, 41% Biden.
Overall, 74% of voters view Biden as too old for the job, up five percentage points since the debate. Among Democrats, concerns about Biden’s age spiked 8 percentage points since the debate to 59% and among Republicans and independents, 79%.
The majority of polls conducted by various organizations after the presidential debate show Donald Trump leading Joe Biden. They also show Biden, who again was already behind most polls, fell further behind. And that same pattern holds true in battleground states where it really matters.
It’s clear that the perception of Biden being mentally unfit and too old to serve as president a second term will not go away given that the polls have been consistently against Biden’s favor for such a long period of time.
What’s aggravating to grassroots Democrats is the gaslighting by establishment Democrats occurring even after the debate. It’s like, “don’t believe your lying eyes and ears,” of what just happened, Biden was sick and exhausted which is why he bombed that night.
Say if it were in fact true and Biden is as “capable” as his handlers say he is – it still does
we still have it in us to bloc vote as in the 1990s. Our current leaders should be emboldened as Cayetano was to seek public office at the highest level.
We need a new renaissance among the younger generations that emphasizes community and embraces our culture and heritage that will help to unify us. We need to draw inspiration from our past, know our history and the sacrifices made which helped us to move forward. Our sense of community is slipping, which does not bode well for the future. Without a sense of community, there is little hope for further empowerment. We are clearly in need of yet another turning point, as we did in the 1990s.
not change “perception” -- and that entanglement is practically impossible to unwind after almost a year of Biden pegged, the feeble old man.
Some like vice president Kamala Harris have suggested that voters look at Biden’s track record, his accomplishments while in office as incentive to vote for Biden. That’s seemingly a fair point.
But it’s a faulty argument because that was Biden of the past whose faculties were clearly sharper and together back then. It doesn’t speak to his mental ability going forward.
People who truly understand how politics work could make the argument that the Democratic platform will get pushed by Biden’s cabinet members and Democrat allies, that they would, in fact, do the work for Biden whether he’s coherent or not. That’s certainly true, and arguably is what’s happening now.
But a figurehead does not make for an effective leader.
A figurehead cannot inspire, cannot convince Americans or Congress to enact truly monumental policies that the nation sorely needs at the moment. Consequently, his handlers would opt for very safe, conservative, marginal impacting policies in the next four years should Biden win. Why? Be-
cause they know that a feeble Biden is not capable to sell major policies to the American public. That would mean four years of wasted time of little accomplishments – time that many Americans do not have to wait.
There is no other choice but to replace Biden
Why establishment Democrats remain stubborn on the fact that Biden is not the best candidate in the Democratic party is astounding. Their inaction (to date) in calling for Biden to step down for the good of the country speaks to a Washington culture of cowardice.
If in fact the Democrat establishment is serious that democracy would be in peril if Trump is elected, why are they willing to put so much at stake and risk it all on Biden who obviously at this juncture cannot win.
The clock is ticking. If Democrats want to save the nation from Trump as they keep saying they do, there’s no time to waste. To call for Biden to step down is not an endorsement of Trump as some Democrats are accusing other Democrats of. It’s not abandonment or disrespect to Biden. It’s being pragmatic and realistic knowing that there is no other way if winning is a goal. The Democratic Party must act now before it’s too late.
By Edwin Quinabo
Increasing voter turnout has been a goal for communities throughout the U.S. mainland and Hawaii is no different.
To spike Filipino voter participation, Hawaii’s Filipino community in the past has tried coordinated carpooling to election sites, set up voter registration booths at community events and publish and announce election information in Filipino newspapers and radio programs.
But results of the Primary Election 2022 Office of Elections Turnout by Precincts map suggests voter turnout in the Filipino community remains low relative to other ethnic groups. While the Office of Elections does not track voter turnout by ethnicity, looking at voter turnout by neighborhoods is telling. The map indicates lower voter turnout in neighborhoods with high Filipino concentrations than in neighborhoods known to have fewer concentration of Filipinos.
The Office of Elections map shows East Oahu, Manoa and Mililani (mostly non-Filipino districts) with voter turnout above 45% while Ewa and parts of Kalihi (high Filipino population) registered in the 35-40% range. And lower Kalihi had less than 30% (lowest category) voter turnout. Waipahu and Kunia were the Filipino neighborhoods with the highest turnout at 35-40%.
Mail-in voting was not the silver bullet elections officials had hoped for to increase voter turnout. The 2022 primary election turnout dropped to 39.6% from 51.2% in 2020, the year mass mail-in voting was implemented due to the pandemic. In 2018, the primary turnout was 38.6%.
Traditionally, Hawaii has posted among the lowest election turnouts in the nation. Even in 2020 with mass mail-in voting, Hawaii was ranked third from the bottom nationally on the M.I.T Election Data & Science Lab’s measure of turnout based on eligible voters.
Filipino political empowerment – Vote!
Fortunato Elizaga, M.D., who has lived in Hawaii for over 50 years, said “There is no question that actively participating in local politics will immensely enhance our im-
pact. Sadly, our voting turnout every election year has been poor. It is high time to improve it. We must increase the presence and impact of Filipinos this election year! Get out and vote should be our mantra.”
Dr. Elizaga believes Hawaii’s Filipino community is behind the Japanese and Chinese communities because they effectively participate in local politics. He recognizes strides forward in the Filipino community but says there is room for improvement. What to do to further Filipino empowerment?
He said, “First and foremost we need much more unity in all our endeavors in politics, business and education. We should actively support smart, well qualified Filipino political candidates in their efforts to get elected. Their presence in our local government will enhance our impact and increase others’ understanding of our needs and ability to contribute to the broader community.”
Serafin Colmenares Ph.D., a community leader and someone who has worked for Hawaii state government in key positions, said while Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group, this has not translated into political strength. “We have the potential and have taken steps toward it, but we have not yet arrived. Several factors limiting us can be mentioned. One, Filipinos are not united; we don’t vote as a bloc, are divided with our regional and personal biases. Second, we lack leaders - quality leadersaround whom we can coalesce. Thirdly, we don’t have the financial resources nor the social capital to support statewide/national campaigns.”
He adds, “We lack quality leaders. We had a few promising ones, but they lacked the finances, the networking with other groups, the experience, and the solid support from the Filipino community. We have upcoming young leaders, but they still need a lot of experience before they can aspire for higher offices.”
UH Manoa professor Patricio Abinales, Ph.D. agrees with Dr. Colmenares that Filipinos in Hawaii have not yet arrived politically when you look at all branches of government in Hawaii. He said, “it takes time for an ethnic group that reaches majority status to gel as a political community.
Dr. Abinales said he notices how political parties train their young members and prepare them for leadership. The Republicans have the Heritage Foundation’s and GOPAC’s Young Leaders Programs. The Democrats have the Best Democratic Practice Institute and Young Leaders Summer Institute, he points out.
He believes besides voting, enhancing Filipino political empowerment here can be achieved through young adult leadership training. “It’s also doable here like on the mainland given that there is a Philippine Center [at UH Manoa], good faculty in the UH school system, active civic organizations like the Filipino Association for University Women and the Knights of Rizal, influential associations like the doctors’ and lawyers’ groups, and some leaders already in state positions.
“These groups and individuals can pool their resources towards creating a Young Filipino Leaders Program whose sole goal is to put more Filipinos into political and government positions. Nothing else but training for political power. As one who studies Southeast Asia, I’ve seen this done with a certain amount of success in Singapore, Malaysia and to a certain extent the Philippines, where ‘they start them young’ in terms of training in political and administrative instruction,” he said.
Rowena Stern, a Filipina who grew up
(Filipinos Take.....from page 4)
in Moanalua now living in Orange County, CA, is shocked at voter turnout still being low in Hawaii given the availability of mail-in voting. She believes voting turnout can make a huge difference to enhance political empowerment. “There is no excuse not to vote. It’s super convenient in Hawaii compared to many parts of the mainland where not everyone can qualify to vote by mail, automatically. We call it absentee mail-in voting. In some states you must provide an accepted excuse to vote by absentee mail like being away from home on election day, being required to work during polling hours or having a disability.”
She elaborates, “I think two things are going on with low voter turnout: first there’s voter apathy; and second some people do not see the connection between voting and the impact it can have on improving one’s life situation. Filipinos should know that voting is empowering.” She suggests there is a correlation between Filipinos’ low voter turnout and the marginal success in elections.
Filipino representation in politics and government: well-to-low representation
Filipinos comprise 25% of Hawaii’s population (about 370,000), behind Whites (43%), ahead of Japanese (22.1%), Native Hawaiian (21.3%) and Chinese (14%), according to DBEDT. Well before the community’s population climb to second, politicos since the 1980s coined the Filipino community as the “sleeping giant.” Of late, some leaders have offered up a new moniker identifying the Filipino community as the “unmotivated giant,” certainly awakened from slumber but still sitting on their hands from realizing their full potential.
How are Filipinos faring in local politics? Politicos point to their firm representation in the State Senate and Honolulu City Council, but they have abysmal numbers in the State House and no ethnic representation at the highest seats of state and federal government: the governorship and Congress.
As for top government posts, it’s no longer that Filipino “unicorn” roaming the halls of power as it used to be decades ago, as pioneering Filipino administrators in government had described. But today there is fair representation of government leaders of Filipino ancestry.
Colmenares said, “There are different types of empowerments, but they can be inter-related and often overlap. Economic empowerment can lead to improved social status, while social empowerment can lead to political engagement. They often work together to create positive and transforma-
tive change in individuals and communities.”
Outside of politics, the journey toward Filipino empowerment in Hawaii is an ongoing process that can be characterized by triumphant highs and devastating lows.
Since the early 1900s when Filipino imported labor arrived, there’s been punctuations of solid gains like the election of Gov. Ben Cayetano and the building of the Filipino Community Center, Filipino leaders often tout as monumental achievements.
Coupled with those historic moments were also tragic setbacks. COVID-19 Filipino deaths were among the highest in the state at 24%, Hawaii’s Department of Health reports. And Filipinos in Maui are still reeling from the devastation caused by the 2023 wildfires.
But most socio-economic experts would say community empowerment is less about a singular or string of time capsule events, and rather it’s a measurement of well-being, looking at statistics over stretches of time. In this light, Filipino empowerment has been steady in progress in some areas and unrealized potential in others, some Filipino community leaders say.
Education: incremental gains, high college attainment, but not at professional level
In education, Filipinos make up the largest group in public schools with a high graduation rate of over 90%.
In the University of Hawaii System (UH-Manoa and community colleges) Filipinos comprise 14.1%, but at UH Manoa 11% undergraduate, 5% graduate, 2.5% faculty and
only one dean, according to a Pamantasan Council report.
A Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) report shows a more illuminating statistic on Hawaii Filipinos and higher education, showing educational attainment of Filipinos in Hawaii: 34.3% with some college (associate degree), 18.3% with a bachelor’s degree, 4.8% with a graduate or professional degree.
The Pamantasan Council report did not track Filipino high school students leaving the state for higher education. The U.S. Department of Education statistics show an increasing number of first-time undergraduate Hawaii residents are choosing to attend colleges outside of the state. About half of students leaving public school in Hawaii choose to move to the mainland for college. Filipinos are a part of this trend, but statistics do not provide this exodus by ethnicity.
Statistics suggest incremental gains in higher education among Filipinos. It’s not that one or two Filipinos sitting in a university classroom as it were in the 1970s, feeling isolated but proud to be the first in the family to go to college. At the same time, Filipinos in higher education today does not adequately reflect their overall state population, educators say.
Positive indicators: high homeownership, low unemployment
The same DBEDT report shows areas where Filipinos excel like in homeownership in Hawaii at 64.6%, the second highest by ethnicity in the state behind Japanese.
Filipinos are also second
“Political empowerment is very important because reforms and policies that could promote change go through the halls of government. Thus, to promote Filipino empowerment, it is necessary to have representation in government and be part of the decision-making process. We have the potential and have taken steps toward it, but we have not yet arrived. Several factors limiting us can be mentioned. One, Filipinos are not united; we don’t vote as a bloc, are divided with our regional and personal biases. Second, we lack leaders - quality leaders - around whom we can coalesce. Thirdly, we don’t have the financial resources nor the social capital to support statewide/ national campaigns.”
– Serafin Colmenares Ph.D., Retired Public Health Administrator and Community Leader
in highest employment rate in Hawaii at over 70% and second lowest unemployment rate at 4.1%.
Annual Earnings: Low individually, but high in household
DBEDT shows Filipinos in Hawaii with a median annual earning of $37,400, behind Japanese ($48,300), Whites ($43,000), and Chinese ($42,000). But measuring median household income (not adjusted for household size), Filipinos place on top at $100,300, followed by Japanese ($94,800), Chinese ($83,000) and Whites ($88,300).
Low Poverty boosted by Ohana living
Due to higher number of income earners living in a single household, Filipinos have the second lowest percentage of people in Hawaii living in poverty at 7%, behind Japanese at 6% and ahead of whites at 10% and Native Hawaiians at 12%.
According to a Rapid Health Survey conducted by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), Native Hawaiians and Filipinos tended to report lower health ratings compared to Whites and Non-Filipino Asians.
Collectively, looking at statistics in various well-being
categories and relating them to other ethnicities in Hawaii, impartial measurements of Filipino empowerment in Hawaii reveal a mixed bag of progress.
Colmenares believes to enhance empowerment, “not only must we be aware of the community’s needs but also provide members with the resources necessary to remove barriers to their development and to uplift their situation, be it social, economic, political. Empowerment allows individuals to actively participate in decision-making processes that directly involve their lives, to take charge of their lives and take action toward their goals.”
Dr. Elizaga, M.D., offers examples that enhances community empowerment -- getting involved in political events and civic projects, promoting and emphasizing higher education, supporting scholarships and mentoring, and patronizing Filipino businesses. He says, “within our families we should be encouraging our children to stay in school and to pursue higher education. With generations of educated Filipino students they can pave their own path to empowerment.”
Stern said while there is room for improvement, Filipinos in Hawaii underestimate how empowered they really (continue on page 6)
By Keli‘i Akina
awaii was blessed recently with the great news that we will be enjoying some significant state income tax cuts that could leave as much as $5.6 billion in our pockets through 2031 and possibly fuel much-needed economic growth.
HNevertheless, some people have been expressing doubts about whether the state can really afford it. In particular, they worry that our lawmakers will try to pass a bunch of tax hikes next year to make up for it, or else make big cuts in essential government services.
My take is that, yes, the state can easily afford the tax cut without needing to raise
taxes or enact any major budget cuts — and I say that as a firm believer in smart, responsible budgeting.
The Hawaii Council of Revenues recently estimated it expects state tax revenues to total about $9.5 billion this year, increase by 4.8% next year, and then grow by between 3.5% and 4.5% each year after that for the rest of the decade.
At that rate, Hawaii’s tax revenue will total about $12 billion in 2030, which means there will still be almost $11 billion to cover the state’s services and obligations, even after factoring in the $1.2 billion taxpayers will save in 2030 due to the tax cuts.
These are just estimates, but barring any major disasters, the state’s financial future seems relatively solid.
(COVER STORY: Filipinos Take....from page 5)
are. “It takes moving away to see the contrast. I’ve been living on the mainland for about 30 years. Each time I come back to Hawaii for vacation, I never feel like a minority because Filipino culture is so deeply interwoven in mainstream Hawaii culture. People like to look at conventional measures of empowerment like income, education and career. But culture and a feeling of belonging as among the majority in Hawaii, that’s very validating and empowering as well. Strength in numbers does matter.”
The formation of community as the beginning toward empowerment
Professor Abinales says of early Filipino immigration to Hawaii and the start of community, “When Filipinos migrated to Hawaii and elsewhere, they came in less as Filipinos and more of members of an ethnolinguistic group (Ilocanos, for example), or former residents of provinces and cities outside of Manila (hence, Cebuanos, Dabawenos, Ilocos Sur, Bicolanos) or even religions (Catholics, Protestants, Penticostals, Muslims). The truth is these ‘divisions’ are the initial basis of unity. The challenge then is
Yes, tax revenues could drop lower than anticipated over this period. Still, it’s even more likely that economic growth spurred by the tax cuts will result in higher tax collections for the state and counties.
It might seem counterintuitive, but extensive research shows that states can actually increase tax revenues by reducing the tax burden and spurring greater economic activity. Think of it as the Walmart solution — things cost less, but Walmart makes it up in volume.
If nothing else, the tax cuts will help lower the cost of living, which could help stem the tide of people leaving Hawaii for better opportunities on the mainland — a trend we should fight for many reasons. For one, every resident who moves away
to overcome them, and look for a new basis of unity, and for me, that will be defining and asserting the Filipinos’ place in state and city politics. From these ‘local bases,’ we can then aspire for national positions.”
Filipinos in Hawaii were a divided community up through the 1980s, community leaders assert. The exiled Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos into Hawaii in 1986 forced a fragmented Filipino community to iron out their regional division, some say.
The late 1980s and 1990s saw a plethora of Filipino organizations forming, mostly based on provincial origins in the Philippines. But umbrella organizations also formed to unite these organizations. It is at this time that talks of Filipino empowerment begun to gain traction, in the backdrop of discrimination due to accent and stereotypes from the larger local society.
A major empowerment turning point came in 1994 when Ben Cayetano ran for governor. All these organizations rallied together to encourage Filipinos to elect the first and only governor in the state of Hawaii and U.S. “I was finishing up my degree at UH-Manoa and still living in
leaves one fewer taxpayer to shoulder the cost of state government.
Meanwhile, let’s not forget that, as a rule, there is always room to slim down the state budget. In fact, we’ve already seen that state leaders are willing to cut spending.
For example, the governor cut approximately $1 billion from the Legislature’s proposed biennial budget last year. This year, when concerns about the cost of rebuilding Lahaina prompted a new look at the budget, some lawmakers suggested across-the-board budget cuts of up to 15% and reductions to grant-in-aid funding.
When Gov. Josh Green signed the tax cuts into law, he mentioned that the state government has about a 30% job vacancy rate, adding that “we’re doing a deep dive into
Hawaii at the time. I remember Filipinos wanted to elect Cayetano as a symbol of hope for our community,” Stern said. “It was more than an election. We took all our feelings of frustration over being treated as second-class citizens in the state and harnessed that energy to put Cayetano into office. His victory was the most empowering moment for Hawaii’s Filipino community I’d say up until now. Many of us cried that election night, including myself. I think it was also the beginning of our unity as a community,” she said. “But there is still work to be done like ending crab in the bucket mentality. It’s common on the mainland in the Filipino community and I hear it’s still a problem in Hawaii.”
Many Filipino leaders attribute “crab mentality” as a hinderance toward community and personal empowerment. Like Stern, Dr. Elizaga encourages Filipinos to reject crab mentality. “As a community, let’s strongly reject the crab mentality. Let’s not look at the successful ones among us and wish for them to fail. Instead, it is essential that we support each other to achieve our dreams and full potential. For example,
the costs that we have on the books that maybe shouldn’t be on the books.”
All of this suggests that state lawmakers realize there is plenty of wiggle room in the state budget to accommodate things considered a priority.
In the case of these historic tax cuts, if our policymakers want to make sure they work for the benefit of the people, they should go easy on future spending and avoid any new boondoggles. Maybe they could even throw in a few more tax reductions. Only in that way will Hawaii become more affordable and fulfill its potential as a place where we all can thrive and prosper.
KELI‘I AKINA is president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.
there are many excellent Filipino businesses that need our support. Wouldn’t it be great to actively look to them for your business first?”
Ethnic identity is key to community and empowerment
Before a strong sense of community and empowerment can occur, Filipinos must be anchored in their ethnic identity. Colmenares sees slippage in the connection younger Filipinos today have with their inherited culture, their ancestral homeland and ethnic identity.
“The sense of being Filipino, the feeling of national pride, is lacking, particularly among the younger or local-born Filipinos. While older Filipinos maintain some connections with the homeland, local-born Filipinos are more attuned with American life and customs. They don’t speak the language and they see Filipino customs and traditions as foreign. There is a need to educate local-born Filipinos about their roots so as to instill pride of being Filipino. Without that pride, without that spirit of Filipino-ness in one’s heart, that sense of community cannot grow and endure.”
Dr. Elizaga speaks highly and with gratitude of Hawaii
Filipinos’ connection to their culture. “I love Hawaii. I can’t think of any better place that I would have loved to raise my family and to practice medicine. Here, I feel like I am practicing medicine in the Philippines with American standards and amenities as most of my patients are Filipinos who can relate to me with ease. This is my big advantage over the non-Filipino doctors. Whatever empowerment our Filipino community has achieved since I arrived in Hawaii has definitely helped me to be a successful physician. I’m so grateful for our collective evolution and increasing empowerment.
Back to political empowerment, Colmenares said, “It’s very important because reforms and policies that could promote change go through the halls of government. Thus, to promote Filipino empowerment, it is necessary to have representation in government and be part of the decision-making process.”
The 2024 Hawaii Primary Election is on August 10 and there is still time to register to vote. Paper Voter Registration Applications must be submitted to County Elections by July 31.
By HFC Staff
Commencement marks the literal beginning of another life chapter for thousands of students graduating this season from Hawaii high schools, colleges, and universities.
But it may also be the end of another educational service, as Hawaii Filipino Chronicle’s journalism scholarship program is now on pause.
The Chronicle has awarded a total of $10,000 for the higher education of local Filipino journalism and mass communication (JMC) students.
The newspaper, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year since it was first published on Oct. 1, 1993, had hoped to help more students
finish their college degrees and jump-start their careers by continuing its annual journalism scholarship program.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic has affected our efforts to do more fundraising for our scholarship and we must pause it indefinitely,” said Dr. Edna Bautista, chair of the scholarship committee.
“However, since 2019, the Chronicle has been able to help four young local Filipinas financially and give them the opportunity to use what they learned in their classrooms and
apply their writing skills in our newsroom. Their published clips in a real community newspaper and not just school assignments enhanced their resumes and job portfolios and gave them real-world communications experience.”
The journalism scholarship was set up during the Chronicle’s 25th publication anniversary because Chona A. Montesines-Sonido, publisher and managing editor of
the newspaper, was concerned about the under-representation of Filipinos in JMC in general.
Declining enrollments in JMC schools negatively impact the number of qualified graduates entering the workforce. The Chronicle hoped that the journalism scholarship program would be a good motivator for local Filipino students to study and work in Hawaii’s media and reverse the situation.
“We need future Fil-Am writers and leaders in the fields of journalism and mass communications. We are short of Filipino journalists who will continue our work and serve the Filipinos and our community at large in the future,” Sonido said.
“We need good journalists who are the ‘eyes and ears of the community’, and the Chronicle believes that we
must build a pool of journalists in the future to safeguard our democracy and create a group that reports ‘checks and balances’ actions happening in the government and around us,” Sonido continued.
“With good reporting in place by well-trained journalists, we can secure a fair, informative and steady flow of news in our community and around the world. It is important that we support these students who are preparing for their future in the JMC field.”
Since the scholarship program’s inception, the Chronicle has been able to offer financial help to college students of local Filipino heritage majoring in JMC fields at four-year accredited universities in the state of Hawaii.
The four Filipinas who won the $2,500 scholarships
(continue on page 13)
By Emil Guillermo
oe Biden admitted he’s no longer a young man, who doesn’t walk, talk or debate like he used to.
J“But I know what I know what I do know,” he said at a rally in New York recently. “I know how to tell the truth.”
He was holding on to the only positive from the recent debate. Trump lied with vigor. Biden seemed tired, flat, and out of gas.
But at least he didn’t lie like Trump.
So far, Biden’s not listening to the ageist pundits and editorialists like those at the New York Times urging him to step aside.
Why should he give up to a convicted felon, found
guilty of sexual assault, who just happens to be leading in the polls? Why does America want to stoop so low?
The earliest presidential debate in U.S. history was supposed to reset the campaign for Biden, the president with a 38% approval rating.
Instead, we are left wondering who has the tougher choice—voters or Joe Biden.
Four more years—but is he able?
It was not a good debate for the president.
But he may have found his secret weapon--the first African American- Asian American vice president ever--Kamala Harris.
After Biden’s lackluster performance, Harris went on CNN and, like a good veep, stood up for her boss.
“What we saw tonight is the President making a very
clear contrast with Donald Trump on all the issues that matter to the American people,” Harris said.
“Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish. And what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong.”
Harris also looked strong. She was filled with an appealing youthful political vigor. It was everything Joe Biden wasn’t on in the recent debate.
There’s no spinning that.
But Harris wasn’t spinning. She acknowledged it was rough the first few minutes, including a moment where Biden seemed to lose his thoughts. Was he talking about Covid?
Medicare?
And then there was Trump. 45 may have sounded louder and clearer than 46, but that doesn’t mean with all his lies and guilty verdicts he deserves to be 47.
By CNN’s own count, both men made misstatements, but Trump made dozens of lies, triple the number of Biden’s, and more consequential.
Here’s a short list:
Trump said the U.S. currently has the biggest budget deficit ever. That happened under Trump, the tax cutter.
Trump said food prices quadrupled under Biden. That was an overstatement.
Trump said he signed the largest tax cut in U.S. history. It wasn’t.
Trump downplayed his role on Jan. 6 and said Rep. Nancy Pelosi turned down his request to send in 10,000 National Guard troops that day. No such offer was made to Pelosi. In fact, the president, not Pelosi, had the power to deploy the DC guard. He didn’t. Trump said he never called dead service members “suckers and losers,” but it was verified by former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly in The Atlantic magazine. One lie I knew instantly came when Trump said he didn’t have sex with a porn star. But Stormy Daniels testified under oath that Trump did, just not very satisfyingly.
So ask yourself who is more presidential: the immoral man who lies loudly or the moral man who apparently
(continue on page 10)
By Elpidio R. Estioko
fter FilAm Joseph Alvarico from Antioch, California, won the 2024 California Teacher of the Year late last year, another FilAm was awarded California’s Best Chef this year by the James Beard Foundation Awards last month.
AHeld in Chicago this year, the James Beard Foundation Awards awarded Kuya Lord restaurant’s Chef Lord Maynard Llera, a 45-year-old chef from Los Angeles, as the Best Chef: California, among seven other nominees..
The James Beard Foundation Awards highlight the culinary and beverage professionals across various cuisines, price points, and locals.
The award is often regarded as the most prestigious national restaurant award in America and is usually called “the Oscars of food.”
Maynard’s win was the only one for Los Angeles this year. In a phone interview in his home in Los Angeles, after he had just arrived from Chicago, where he accepted the award, Chef Maynard said:
“It’s just surreal. My efforts and creative work in my recipes were recognized, and I am happy about it. I came here 20 years ago from the Philippines with a dream of opening a restaurant.”
Chef Maynard was at the Chicago Airport waiting for his flight back home to Los Angeles when the Hawaii Fil-
ipino Chronicle got a hold of him for this feature article.
Chef Maynard’s restaurant called Kuya Lord is an elevated fast-casual restaurant concept that features regional Filipino dishes inspired by the dishes he grew up eating in Lucena City, Quezon Province Philippines.
The restaurant’s name “Kuya” is a Tagalog word for older brother with “Lord” referring to Chef Maynard’s first name.
Chef Maynard, born and raised in the Philippines, mentioned in the interview that he considered himself a “happygo-lucky man” while pursuing Hotel and Restaurant Management and Business Administration without any direction at San Sebastian College, Manila, Philippines.
Since his true passion is cooking, he told his father that he wanted to go to the United States to study culinary arts. So, in 2004, at age 24, he migrated to the U.S. with the ultimate goal of opening his own restaurant.
In 2006, Chef Maynard graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in the same year, where he started as a line cook in some of the hottest kitchens on the West Coast for six years. He then became a sous chef and, finally, a culinary director for the h.wood Group in 2017.
As the culinary director of the h.wood Group, he developed his own culinary program and created restaurant concepts across the U.S. He also oversaw the development of the company’s portfolio,
such as The Nice Guy, Mason Restaurant, Delilah, Petite Taqueria, Blind Dragon and Harriet’s.
In 2019, he left the company to finally open his very own restaurant, Kuya Lord.
But before Kuya Lord found its way into brick-andmortar on Melrose Ave., Chef Maynard launched it as a popup at wine bars, breweries, food events, and private dining rooms highlighting fine dining, fast casual, and street food.
Before the pop-ups, Chef Maynard and his wife Gigi would cook Filipino food for friends, relatives, and longtime followers, which led to more people inquiring about his food.
“You don’t go to a restaurant just to eat good food. The most important thing is the memories created out of the dining experience,” Chef
was recovering from a recent cold?
Biden may have had a bad 90 minutes in the debate, but that doesn’t erase the good he’s done the last four years in action.
Or does it?
Pre-debate, I thought Biden had to check some things off for me.
I presumed he’d win on policy.
But Biden had to deliver on the three visceral E’s.
He need to give voters a reason to get enthusiastic about his existing presidency.
He had to show he had the energy to do the job for anoth-
Maynard said when asked about what he thinks beyond food and the cuisine.
“A good dining experience is being together with the people close to your heart,” he added.
Kuya Lord is known for its Lucenachon and Pancit Chami. From regulars to food critics, Kuya Lord’s take on Filipino food is praised and highlighted.
“Maynard focuses on using high-quality ingredients and thoughtful cooking processes to make Filipino food shine,” wrote Patrick Manalo of Paper Plate Zine.
“His Lucenachon, a Filipino-style porchetta, is a 4-day process of infusing Filipino flavors of garlic and lemongrass into a juicy and tender pork belly roast with the crispiest, crackling skin. For his pancit chami, Maynard builds layers of sweet and spicy flavors with every timely integration of his 20+ ingredients.”
Brant Cox of The Infatuation described Kuya Lord’s pancit chami as “among the best we’ve ever had, period. It comes with either blue prawns or lechon kawali, but choosing one is a huge problem because both are equally fantastic.”
The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Addison sums it up: “Kuya Lord’s Filipino feast is food of power, finesse and delight. Ev-
er four years. And he had to avoid embarrassment. That, I figured, might be the hardest, but he only had one really bad verbal lapse. But combined with the scratchiness in his voice, his performance did not inspire confidence.
Trump was more of an embarrassment, though, lying about things you don’t normally hear about in a presidential debate like sleeping with Stormy Daniels and being called out by Biden for the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault rape case.
Commentators in post-de-
ery dish is masterful.”
In his acceptance speech at the James Beard Foundation Awards, Chef Maynard thanked his wife Gigi, for supporting him throughout their journey.
“I want to thank my wife, who came here to America to be with me and to support me since day one. She even quit her job and shared with me through this journey. Without her, Kuya Lord wouldn’t be here now. This recognition is not just a testament to my individual efforts and hard work but a reflection of the support and, encouragement, and collaboration from many wonderful people in my life. I am fortunate enough to have mentors, friends and family all throughout this journey.”
Chef Maynard is the youngest of four children. With his wife Gigi, they have two children: Juliana, 10, and Iliano, 7.
As a final word during the phone interview, he shared advice: “Follow your passion. Make a solid plan. Work hard no matter what, and never give up. Be patient. And, be humble.”
ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and a multi-awarded journalist here in the US. For feedbacks, comments… please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com
bate analysis seemed quick to pounce on Biden more than Trump.
Wouldn’t you rather vote on the Biden record, both as a man and as a president, which is much better than he gets credit for?
On the economy and jobs, on the defense of reproductive rights, on civil rights.
Biden also doesn’t have Trump’s 34 felony convictions, a point that came up but was never effectively highlighted by Biden.
Instead, Trump used it to bring up more lies, baselessly suggesting Biden’s possible (continue on page 11)
By Will Espero
Deja Vu. It seems like the same song and dance.
When Donald Trump lost in the 2020 election, he whined and complained like a sore loser. Fraud. Cheating. Political Corruption. Conspiracy.
He should not have lost, Trump claimed. And his supporters and some cowardly Republican lawmakers went along.
Here we are now after a guilty verdict by a New York jury in the hush money case involving Stormy Daniels, the owner of the National Enquirer, and Michael Cohen (Trump’s fixer).
The same noise after the results: corruption, fraudulent decisions, political retribution, falsehoods.
Sound familiar? Despite what Trump thinks, he lost his trial and has brought dishonor to the office of the presidency.
Donald Trump is the first former president of the United States to be found guilty of three felonies.
Trump committed adultery prior to being in elective office and paid a porn star for her silence so the immoral act
would not be public before the 2016 presidential election.
His staff and friends went along, and guess what? Trump won the election. American history was manipulated and redirected, and a white-collar criminal, Donald Trump, was elected president.
In my humble opinion, had this information been public prior to the 2016 elections, Trump would have never won the presidency.
Some may disagree with me, but I truly believe the majority of American voters would not have voted for a man who cheated on his wife and tried to cover up the incident in a criminal way.
Sentencing will be on July 11, and jail time is a longshot possibility. Trump was very critical of the judge who would decide Trump’s fate so anything from probation to prison time may happen.
Despite the historical outcome of the trial, Trump’s supporters are still rabidly loyal to the candidate.
Trump has been a master at raising millions from his supporters, and he certainly wasted no time to do it again to help cover his costs and expenses.
Money makes a big difference, and Trump has used his experiences, whether good or bad, to garner financial support from his allies.
He’s certainly not shy
(CANDID PERSPECTIVES: Post-Debate ....from page 10)
criminality connected to his son Hunter.
Whenever that sort of thing happened, I just thought of the direct comparison between Trump and Biden on Asian American issues.
One of the first things Biden did when he became president was to protect Filipino Asian Americans under siege during the pandemic.
That’s how bad it was after Trump, the “Kung Flu” president, scapegoated our entire community.
If a debate is intended to help clarify support for a candidate going forward, this one
about asking for millions, which he knows he needs and can easily get.
We all have our faults, and no one is perfect.
But in the past, when talking or writing about the president of the United States of America, a criminal record was certainly grounds for elimination as a credible leader of the free world. Not anymore.
The dumbing-down of the president is lowering the standards we once held for this office.
For some, winning is everything, and since Trump is doing well in the polls, he should continue to be the GOP standard-bearer, they say.
It appears Republicans have put Trump’s sins, indiscretions, foul mouth, exaggerations, lies, bad behavior, and criminal actions aside for another chance at the White House.
This is the new Republican Party of America.
No need for a role model for our children. No need for
just made things more unclear.
I had said Biden’s 38% approval rating was so low that we might have another Hillary Clinton situation, in which Democrats win the popular vote but lose undecided voters in key swing states.
After the debate, some commentators on CNN and MSNBC reported that high-level Democrats were panicked, worried that if Biden were still at the top of the ticket, it would be disastrous for Democrats down ballot.
Some were texting the woefully acronym, “FML,” (eff-my-life). Was the debate that bad?
a person with good character. No need for an individual the world could look to with respect.
The GOP wants a winner to carry out its policies and keep the federal courts conservative. It looks like the Republican candidate for president of the United States will be a convicted felon.
Welcome to the 2024 elections. What a shame.
Loyalty is a characteristic many of us admire. Loyalty to family, friends, a school, or an employer are common.
Political loyalty is also an important attribute that could be based on strength, popularity, power, and perception.
In the case of Trump, his supporters have proven their loyalty year after year even as the negative press and stories have mounted. As the 2024 election nears, Trump is banking on his loyal followers to propel him to victory.
In our nation, where a two-party system dominates our politics, loyalty is essential for both parties.
Primaries are conducted, and the strongest candidate emerges. Thus, the loyalty-to-party trait is engaged, and Donald Trump remains standing. As a former president, he will be formidable.
I get it. That’s the way our process works. The up-
Style-wise, yes.
The flash polls CNN took among debate watchers indicated style did matter, with Trump beating Biden, 67% to 33%.
But did the debate change the mind of any voters?
81 percent of poll respondents said the debate had no effect. That’s way more than the 5% who said they had changed their mind. Or the 14% who said they are now reconsidering their vote.
More optimistic were surrogates like Harris and fellow Californian Governor Gavin Newsom, who had strong words for those who might (continue on page 12)
coming historic campaign will pit a convicted felon and well-known adulterer who was once president against an elderly president whom some think should retire due to his age.
It will be a brutal and harsh campaign by both sides as independents and undecided watch and observe. Their votes will determine the outcome as millions of dollars are spent in battleground states.
If you are one of the undecided, it will be paramount to read campaign literature, view the news, watch the debates, talk to others, and not believe everything you see on social media.
Fake news, fraudulent accounts, foreign adversaries, and simply bad people will attempt to sway your vote and affect the election results.
Check the information. There will be truth and facts in the public domain, but it’s up to the voters to utilize their best instincts and knowledge to elect the most powerful leader in the free world.|
WILL ESPERO retired from the Hawaii legislature after serving 19 years in the state House of Representatives and state Senate. He is currently a novelist, poet, and supporter of the arts. Lingering Thoughts provides a glimpse of his perspective on current events and issues.
By Rose Cruz Churma
This publication is a “medley of factual romances, happy or tragical, most of which made the news,” as described on its front cover.
Ten stories are included, all very interesting, sometimes unbelievable, but all true.
As they say, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
The author had a long journalistic career and, in that capacity, had come across interesting bits of news whose backstories are worth documenting as timeless love stories.
In the first story, the author’s colleague—wellknown columnist Teodoro Valencia, figured prominently as an improbable cupid to a Japanese girl and a poor Filipino boxer from the barrios. He was part of the Philippine boxing delegation to Japan.
Doroy Valencia had to intervene because, during those days, soon after WWII (in the late 1950s), no visitor visas for the Philippines
were granted in Japan; only business visas were allowed.
It is through his intercession that the boy meets the girl and eventually marries her—a fairy tale ending to an otherwise impossible pairing.
Another story that would forever haunt me is that of a Filipina ballerina and a Yugoslavian refugee.
Tita Layag won a scholarship to Madrid after she graduated from the University of the Philippines.
In Madrid, she enrolled at the Universidad Central, where she worked for her doctorate in philosophy and renewed her ballet studies under prominent ballet teachers in Spain.
There, she met Ante Radaic, a Yugoslavian refugee who also had a scholarship in Spain. Boy meets girl and both fall in love—and despite the initial protests from her family, boy moves to the Philippines to be with her.
For those who consider themselves “Rizalists”— those who join Knights of Rizal groups and read all of Rizal’s works or those written about him, you’ve prob-
former Ambassador Emil Behasa.
ably encountered the name Ante Radaic—the protagonist of this love story.
He wrote an unpublished essay on Rizal titled “Rizal from Within: An Introduction to the Study of Rizal’s Inferiority Complex.” It is an intriguing psycho-analysis of Rizal, blaming Rizal’s alleged insecurities for his short stature.
The story of Stella Marquez and Jorge Araneta was also included in this story— she was of the Miss International fame, and he was the scion of the Araneta family.
It is sweet, romantic, and has a happy ending—both blessed with good looks, loving family ties, and financial resources.
But the one story that touched me was that of the
think Biden should be replaced before the Democratic convention.
“We’ve got to have the back of this president,” Newsom told MSNBC. “You don’t turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”
Newsom cited 15.6 million jobs added under Biden, more than eight times the number from the last three Republican presidents combined.
“This president delivered; we need to deliver for him,” said Newsom, as he tried to put a stop to talk about replacing Biden.
“It’s unhelpful to our democracy, to the future of this country, and the world. They
He was on the third cohort of the “State Department Boys” sent to Washington D.C. soon after independence to be trained as a diplomat to serve the newly formed Republic of the Philippines.
In the late 1950s, he served as the Consul General in Honolulu and stayed in the islands for five years. It was reported that he brought his entire family to this post in the Pacific (unlike in his other posts).
But while serving in Israel, his wife died, after which the widower was sent to serve as the chief diplomat in Germany.
While in Bonn, he would hire a German translator-interpreter, Mrs. Roy Spangler (nee von Kleist), whose former husband was an American agent of the CIA.
Monique von Kleist, as she was called, was the eldest daughter of a German baron, which made her a baroness. This story is aptly titled “The Ambassador and the Baroness.”
In the process of telling this “love relationship,” the dirty linen, so to speak, of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs was laid out for all to observe, dissect, and read in the newspapers and discussed in the halls of Congress.
need us right now to step up, and that’s exactly what I intend to do right now.”
It was a pep talk the Democrats didn’t figure they’d need prior to the debate. What would be more telling is if Joe Biden looks at the debate video the day after. Would he like his own performance, or be honest enough to make the tough call himself for his party and his country?
To retire graciously into private life.
After the debate, we may be at that point.
If not, expect to see a lot more of Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and others standing up for Biden.
Theirs is a heartfelt “love relationship” that one wished has ended well, and maybe it did—after all the public scrutiny had died down—as well as the interference of public officials (and their domineering wives).
The ten stories are preceded by a preface penned by the author sharing his views on “Love in the Philippines” and ended with a postscript by the British author Caroline Kennedy titled “Filipinos Are Clumsy Lovers?”
She would eventually marry Filipino artist BenCab in 1969.
This medley of stories is easy to read, especially with the style of writing that is uniquely Nick Joaquin’s. He is a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, and biographer whose works— written in English—depict the diversity of the Filipino people.
He started as a proofreader for the Philippines Free Press and went up the ranks to contributing editor and essayist using the name “Quijano de Manila.”
ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.
Harris, in particular, showed last night how she may be the best thing in a Biden-Harris ticket.
Republicans have already shown an eagerness to go racist and misogynist against Harris, one reason the Biden administration seemingly has kept her hidden.
But with reproductive rights of women one of the strongest issues the Democrats have, leaning in on the vice president at this point may be the Democrats’ best, if not only, answer.
EMIL GUILLERMO is a journalist and commentator. His talk show is on www.amok.com.
By Seneca Moraleda-Puguan
ow about joining contests? Getting awards? How can she be an honor student?”
These are just some of the many questions my mother-in-law threw at us when we decided to homeschool our eldest daughter, Callie.
She is just one of the many parents in the Philippines who find joy and pride in their children’s awards and recognition.
I even read in one mommy group on Facebook, that the mother was ranting because her son didn’t get the award for “best in a certain subject” despite bagging all the other awards and being the top student.
She complained that another student got it even if his son’s grade was higher.
I understand where they are coming from. Been there, done that. I don’t want to go back to that kind of culture. This kind of attitude towards education breaks my heart.
I was a consistent honor student from elementary to high school. I also graduated cum laude from UP Diliman. I was very competitive. I made sure I was part of the top students in class.
(FEATURE: Chronicle ....from page 7)
were:
2019: Alyssa Laureta (née Acob), Kapolei
2020: Brenna Flores, Waipahu
2021: Jasmine Sadang, Ewa Beach
2022: Lizette Nolasco, Aiea
Laureta double-majored in Integrated Communications and Mass Communications and graduated (virtually at the height of the pandemic) in May 2020 from Hawaii Pacific University (HPU).
She got married in December 2022 to Vien Laureta and both serve as campus
My parents never pressured me but receiving recognition brought happiness to my heart and pride to my mama and papa. Being an honor student became my motivation to be diligent in learning.
I joined every contest I could join- from singing to writing contests, slogan and poster-making contests, debates, and science quiz bees.
I pressured myself to perform because I thought that being an honor student would mean a better future.
But too much competition can be unhealthy.
When I was in elementary, I was supposed to be the salutatorian. But the mother of my classmate complained because she believed that her daughter deserved the rank.
Academically, she was better than me. But because I was active extra-curricular wise, I had higher points than her.
But this was unacceptable for her mother to the point that she threatened our teachers and the principal. I didn’t want any drama so I gave up the award and just settled for third honor.
Giving the opening speech during the graduation, a privilege given to salutatorians, was enough for me.
ministers for Every Nation Campus. Laureta also worked as the digital media manager for Pearlside Church.
Flores, a Communication major with a Marketing emphasis, graduated in May 2021 from Chaminade University. She currently works as a local-based project coordinator for TransPerfect, a global company that provides translation and language services.
Sadang was a Communication Studies and Practices major who graduated within 3½ years in December 2022 from HPU. She did a couple of marketing internships and
The same thing happened to my husband, who was also a consistent honor student.
In their high school, he was being awarded as the valedictorian but the father of his classmate opposed. It was a big scandal in their school that almost ruined their graduation rites. In the end, my husband still got the award.
When we remember these stories, we would just laugh even if it caused us and our parents great stress when we were young. But it’s because of this that our perspective about education changed.
We believe that it should never be about grades, ranks or awards. It’s about love for learning.
Love for learning? This we saw and continue to see in our children.
When we homeschooled them, and didn’t focus on
was a corps member for Teach for America Hawaii before becoming a 7th grade English teacher for Ewa Makai Middle School.
Nolasco, the Chronicle’s most recent scholar, just graduated last month from Chaminade with a degree in Communication with a Mass Communication concentration.
All the scholars were honor graduates. Links to their biographical profiles, articles they wrote for this newspaper, and feature stories on their graduation may be searched on the Chronicle’s website.
academics but instead character, nature and play, we witnessed wonder and awe in their eyes about the many things they are learning.
They would wake up every day excited about the new ideas they will learn, new places they will explore, new people they will meet, new things they will discover.
Now that we moved to Switzerland and they have entered a traditional school, we continue to see joy and excitement in going to school. They come home bringing many stories of the things that they have learned.
We are grateful because early education in Switzerland allows them to play a lot and be creative.
For my eldest who is in grade 2 (they call it 4H), though she has more academic subjects and they are evaluated, it brings me peace that they are given room to excel without competing with each other. They don’t have rankings nor awards.
My son, too, didn’t get any grades, just smileys from his teacher. In fact, during their last day of school, there’s no moving up or awarding ceremony, just games and picnic together.
For me, this is a breath of
fresh air. I am very grateful that this is the kind of education they are getting.
In the Philippines, we are so consumed with rankings, grades and awards but it’s frustrating that we are among the lowest in the world when it comes to creative thinking.
We landed in the bottom four of a global test for creative thinking, according to the results of the Program for International Student Assessment.
Our students were deemed to have one of the weakest creative thinking skills globally. We are also among the lowest in math, science and reading in global assessment conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
I hope that the Department of Education in the Philippines considers developing new methods of education for our young learners.
We have some of the best minds in the world, we just need to give them venues to grow and develop well.
I pray that our children, who will become the next-generation leaders, will not be pressured to perform but will have deep love for learning.
By Dr. Arcelita Imasa
I– Reader
n some of your recent columns, you mentioned wage theft. Can you tell us more about it?
Dear Reader, Wage theft is the failure of an employer to pay employees what they have legitimately earned.
It can take many forms, including but not limited to unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, misclassified employees, tip stealing, and payments of wages in cash to avoid taxes.
This unethical and illegal practice poses a significant
threat to workers, particularly low-wage, non-unionized, and immigrant/migrant laborers.
In Hawaiʻi and elsewhere, wage theft remains a widespread and critical issue. In February of this year, the Department of Labor (DOL) recovered $134,000 in tips, overtime wages, and damages from Maui L&L’s for “willfully” committing wage theft.
And recently, a DOL investigation found that the owners of two Max’s of Manila Restaurants in Honolulu and Waipahu did not pay kitchen staff the required overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Hawai’i Workers Center uncovered these violations and helped Max’s workers organize and pursue justice through the DOL.
Max’s paid kitchen employees a fixed salary and
excluded them from overtime pay regardless of how many hours they worked.
DOL investigators also found the employer unlawfully allowed a manager to take a portion of tips. Federal law forbids employers or managers from keeping employees’ tips for any purpose.
Twenty-three Max’s workers recovered $153,885 in overtime wages, an additional $153,885 in liquidated damages for 23 employees, and $8,418 in civil money penalties for the reckless nature of the violations.
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu stated, “Many restaurant employers in Hawaii and elsewhere in the nation continue to shortchange workers and deprive them of their hard-earned wages.”
Adding to this injury, the type of visa used to re-
cruit some of Max’s workers resulted in long separations from their families, in one instance, 14 years. This is absolutely tragic!
We urge all workers to know your rights. Read our column and learn more about your rights by contacting the Hawai’i Workers Center at phone number (503)9675377 or (503)WORKERS) or at nelson@hawaiiworkerscenter.org.
Check out our website, www.hawaiiworkerscenter. org. Employers and workers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the agency’s restaurant compliance assistance toolkit and an overview of the FLSA protections for restaurant workers.
Workers and employers can help ensure hours
worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.
Many of us enjoy eating a wonderful meal at Max’s. We did not know that our dollars were supporting abuse by those we prepared and served our meals.
But we can now take comfort in knowing that because of the courage of Max’s workers coming together to fight injustice with the help of the Hawai’i Workers Center and DOL, we can once again enjoy a meal knowing we are not supporting
Sincerely,
Hawaii Workers Center
Dr. ARCELITA IMASA is a practicing family physician and the secretary of the Hawaii Workers Center’s Executive Committee of the Board. She grew up in the Philippines before migrating to Hawaii with her family more than a decade ago.
Samantha Catantan was born on February 1, 2002, to Jon and Aileen Catantan in Quezon City, Philippines. She began her fencing journey at the age of nine when she joined the Quezon City Sports Enhancement Program.
She is the oldest of four sisters, and fencing acumen appears in the family. Along with younger sisters Ysah and Sophia, the Catantan’s became the first three siblings to join the Philippines national foil fencing team.
Samantha was a precocious competitor in the sport, first qualifying for the national team at age 15 and later winning a silver medal at the South East Asian Games in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She medaled again in 2019, bringing home the bronze.
She honed her craft further fencing at the high school level at the University of the East (UE), where she became an MVP for the UE Junior Warriors, leading the team to multiple championships.
Catantan’s journey continued when she traveled to the United States to study and fence at Penn State University.
Competing in the NCAA, she made history as the first native Filipino fencer to participate in the NCAA Fencing Championships.
In her 2021 rookie year, she secured a third-place trophy and an All-America
selection in women’s foil. She would bring home the gold when she competed in the 2021 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games.
Only a year ago, things took a scary turn when Catantan tore her ACL during the semifinals of the 2023 South East Asian Games.
She could not return to
action for eight months, and for a brief time, her Olympic hopes looked to be at risk.
However her rehab program was highly successful, and upon returning to Penn State, she found her form and finished the NCAA season ranked 10th overall.
After the frightening encounter with injury, Catan-
tan’s Olympic hopes were back on track, and she earned an invitation to the Asia and Oceania Zonal Qualifying Tournament.
Catantan performed well in the tournament and found herself in the finals, within striking distance of a lifelong dream.
With a trip to the Olympics on the line, she squared off against Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva in a white-knuckle showdown. Catantan found herself trailing 9-12 in the third and final round of the match but battled back to a tie at 14-14.
The first to 15 points would be victorious; the match had become a sudden-death affair. The entire match is worth watching, but the final point demonstrated what a fierce competitor Catantan is.
For most of the match,
LET’S ZUMBA | Filipino Community Center | Every Monday starting January 8, 2024 at 6:15pm | FilCom Center, Consuelo Courtyard, 94-428 Mokuola Street, Waipahu | Need to unwind in movement and dance after a long workday? Join the community as we Zumba through the evening. Only $5 per class. Proceeds go to support these program-types for FilCom Center.
31ST ANNUAL PISTAHAN PARADE AND FESTIVAL | The Pacific Community – SPC, Gravitas Pasifika | August 10-11, 2024 | Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, California | The Filipino American Arts Exposition (FAAE) of the rich tapestry of cultures and ethnic communities of the San Francisco Bay Area through its promotion of Filipino American art, music, film, dance, cuisine, history, and more. FAAE celebrates its ancestral heritage and contemporary
traditions, broadening awareness and understanding of Filipino history and culture. For more information on the festival, visit www.pistahan.net.
OHANA MEDICAL MISSION’S MASQUERADE BALL | Saturday, October 26, 5:00-11:00pm | Tapa Ballroom, Hilton Hawaiian Village | A Charity Ball with Grand Parade of Masks, fabulous prizes, sumptuous foods and dancing. For details and reservations, please contact JP Orias at 808-518-8929
By Shane Matanga
My parents separated when I was 13, leaving me and my siblings to be raised by our grandparents, who had limited resources to support us.
Our household lacked parental presence, love, and affection, and this void deeply impacted us. Growing up in such an environment was challenging, and I longed for a sense of stability and belonging.
In high school, I started drinking alcohol as a way to cope with my feelings of
emptiness.
By my twenties, I had become a heavy drinker. The friends I surrounded myself with influenced me to lead a lifestyle centered around nightlife and parties.
This exposure led me down a path of using party drugs, engaging in multiple hookups, and jumping from one relationship to another in a desperate attempt to avoid the feeling of being alone.
In 2016, I started working in the casino industry. This job introduced me to the lifestyle of the wealthy, which I found fascinating and alluring. Their extravagant pos-
Last month, the Biden administration announced that a new program will protect undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have resided in the U.S. for 10 or more years from being deported.
Moreover, the policy will allow those individuals to work legally in the U.S. and remove barriers to U.S. citizenship.
In another new policy, immigrants and DACA recipients who earned their degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and received an employment offer will receive their work visas quickly under certain conditions.
Applications are not yet open for these programs as the implementation process will take more time.
However, the White House estimates these new policies will help around half a million spouses of U.S. citizens and about 50,000 immigrant chil-
dren whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen.
For the organization Asian American Advancing Justice (AAJC), these policies will greatly benefit thousands of families.
However, AAJC is wary that there is still more work to be done to uplift immigrants in the US.
For now, the organization urges the President and Congress to continue putting out policies like these to support immigration reform.
“We thank President Biden for this important policy. We urge him and Congress to continue prioritizing meaningful immigration reform and welcoming policies that keep families together. These policies, in contrast to those that focus on enforcement or attacks on asylum, are what the U.S. needs to remain strong, moral, and prosperous,” AAJC concluded.
sessions and carefree lives seemed like the solution to my problems, and I began to desire a similar life for myself.
In 2017, I became a secret mistress to one of our patrons, a man 30 years older than me. This relationship offered me financial freedom and an escape from my worries, as he generously lavished me with money and material possessions that extended even to my family.
Our affair continued for years, to the point where he planned to leave his wife for me. However, during this time, I also entered into a relationship with a single man my age.
I juggled both relationships simultaneously without either man being aware. I felt no remorse or conscience about my actions, unaware that God was already preparing to rescue me from this life of sin.
In January 2019, my entire
world shattered when I discovered I was pregnant. The news left me overwhelmed and terrified of losing the life I had built.
My initial reaction was to have an abortion to preserve my current lifestyle. However, during the check-up before the procedure, hearing my baby’s heartbeat softened my heart.
I realized I was nurturing another life within me and could not choose to end it. I decided to confront both men and tell them the truth. Despite knowing who the father was, I decided to end both relationships and committed to raising my child on my own.
My aunt called me one day, and I opened up about my troubles. She prayed for me and suggested I visit Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF).
It took me some time to act on her advice, but eventually, I decided to give it a chance. After my first visit, I found myself attending every Sunday.
In April 2019, I completely dedicated my life to Jesus after hearing the story of the adulterous woman brought to Jesus in John 8.
I felt a deep sense of love, forgiveness, hope, and peace.
Jesus washed away my shame and guilt, clothing me in righteousness, dignity, and value.
(SPORTS CENTER: Samantha....from page 14)
Catantan practiced a reserved style, allowing Aktayeva to be the aggressor, often retreating further and further into defense on her own side of the strip.
Catantan would look to score points with sublime counter-parries when Aktayeva would lunge in attack.
But tied 14-14 with a trip to the Olympics on the
line, Catantan underwent a transformation. She pushed furiously towards Aktayeva forcing the action deep into Aktayeva’s side of the strip.
Catantan used several short lunges paired with high feints, forcing Aktayeva to parry repeatedly. After Aktayeva parried a seventh straight feint to the upper body, Catantan
Since then, I have kept myself surrendered to Jesus by reading His word and being part of a community where I can journey with other believers and be accountable.
In 2020, I joined CCF’s singles ministry Be One with God (B1G) Fridays and was blessed to serve as a facilitator in 2021. This journey has continued until today, and I am now in my fourth year of serving God and His people at B1G Fridays.
In 2023, with the encouragement of my group leader, God prompted me to journey with women who are solo parents.
I am now walking alongside five beautiful single mothers with full confidence and dependence on Jesus, knowing that in Him, our family is secure and complete, lacking in nothing.
Today, the father of my child and I have agreed to co-parent our son to ensure his well-being, but my utmost dependence is on God, who is always more than enough.
I am Shane Matanga, once a lover of men and money, now finding the Lover of my soul, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be all the glory!
SHANE MATANGA is a committed follower of Christ, a God-dependent single mother, and an active servant of the Lord. She is raising her child with strong faith values while actively participating in church community. Her devotion to her faith guides her in all aspects of her life.
slashed downward towards the exposed lower body. As Aktayeva moved to parry this threat, Catantan executed a lighting-fast thrust to the now exposed upper body and punched a ticked to the Olympics with the winning point.
The final round can be viewed in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=64ikaE0LHb8
