NaFFAA Illinois Celebrates
Women’s History Month Since 2004, NaFFAA Illinois has been honoring by inducting new members each year to its Circle of Empowered Women (CEW), as its tribute to March as Women’s History Month. These women were nominated based on their community leadership and their desire for personal and social change, among other criteria.
What’s Inside? CEW Fil-Am Vote FilVets AB199 12th NEC Valor Day SF Membership Form
Prior to the induction of this year’s batch of empowered women, a forum was organized by the hardworking officers of NaFFAA Illinois held at the Holiday Inn in Skokie, IL on March 26, 2016. This event was spearheaded by Illinois State Chair Abbey Eusebio, State Vice Chair Rose Tibayan, and Secretary Rian Marie Francisco, who served as master of ceremonies. NaFFAA Region 3West Chair Jelly Carandang served as the inducting officer of the 2016 CEW members. This year’s theme is centered on “Honoring our Elders.” A variety of topics were presented by selected panelists. Daliah Saper, Esq. presented the topic on Cyberstalking. She explained that “any posting on social media that is damaging to one’s reputation or anyone’s intimate photo is reportable to the State Attorney.” She added that “harassment battle online typically takes a long legal process.”
Google pics
L-R Daliah Saper, Esq., Lesley Arca, Esq., Elisa Racelis Boughner, Kayla Delson (student inductee), Lakshmi Lakshmanan, Esq., Ginger Leopoldo, Amy Mara, Rupal Mistry, Nicole Reyes (student inductee), Fanny Sampson Cohen, Anne Shaw, Esq. NaFFAA R3W Chair Jelly Carandang was inducting officer. Panelist Rose Tibayan presented the topic on Educational Downward Mobility. She spoke about how Asian Americans have inherent qualities to achieve higher educational goals. She reported that Filipinos coming to America are best educated. Lura White from the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) presented available resources for elderly care. She reported that it is important to care for the elderly as she had taken care of her own grandfather. She identified CMAA’s in-home and transport services for the elderly, the intake process, and insurance coverage. NaFFAA IL State Chair Abbey Eusebio presented the topic on Congressional Gold Medal Bill. She cited the importance of calling the community’s support by calling US congressmen and senators to sign the bill. In her presentation, Abbey showed the video on the significant contributions of Filipino Veterans during World War II. R3West Chair Jelly Carandang thanked the attendees. In closing, she encouraged everyone to report to authorities any abuse and violence committed against women. 1
Circle of Empowered Women
Circle of Empowered Women
CEW inductees, forum speakers and guests
L-R: CEW Panelists Rose Tibayan, Daliah Saper, Esq., Lura White, Abbey Eusebio
San Diego, California, March 23, 2016. NaFFAA Region 10 FilAm Vote Team had the opportunity to observe the process of registering the newly sworn-in US citizens conducted by the Registrar of Voters of San Diego. The FilAm Vote Team had an opportunity to meet with the International Students at Alliant International University who picked Fil-Am Vote as their project in school. Present during the promotional event was FilAm Vote Team composed of Juanito, Edwin, Su, An, Enrique, Angel, Jackie, and Jasmine. Your dedication and commitment in civic engagement is truly inspirational! 2
L-R: R3West Chair Jelly Carandang, NaFFAA IL Secretary Rian Francisco, NaFFAA IL State Vice Chair Rose Tibayan, NaFFAA IL State Chair Abbey Eusebio and NaFFAA Newsletter Editor Ryan Tejero. Rian Francisco was the master of ceremonies during the event.
NY Consul and NaFFAA Bring FilVet Agenda to U.S. Senator’s Representatives Article and photo as featured in globalnation.inquirer. net
The Philippines’ consul general met with top representatives of U.S. Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey to discuss collaboration on Filipino community concerns, particularly pending legislation beneficial to Filipino veterans of World War II. Consul General Mario L. De Leon, Jr. met with George Helmy, state director for the Office of US Senator Booker at the Philippine Consulate General on Tuesday, March 8. Joining meeting was Senator Booker’s Constituent Advocate Dinesh Suryawanshi and National Chairman Atty. JT Mallonga and Region-1 Chair Atty. Merit Salud of the National Federation of Fil-Am Associations (NaFFAA). De Leon reported the community’s attempts to get legislators’ support for Filipino veterans, particularly Senate bill 1555 or the Congressional Gold Medal Award for Filipino Veterans of World War II. He emphasized how such a recognition would honor the valor and service of Filipino veterans who now number less than a few thousand still alive in the U.S. Mallonga noted that the Filipino veterans were the only notable minority group not recognized for their contribution to Allied victory in the Second World War, unlike the Tuskegee Airmen, Japanese Nisei, Puerto Ricans and others who have been honored for their service. De Leon and Mallonga also reported on an initiative to increase the number of Filipino American voters for the U.S. general and local elections this year and beyond. There are currently about 3.4 million total of Filipino Americans in the U.S., out of which 340,000 reside within the Northeast U.S. region, and 120,000 in New Jersey. Thus far, only 23,000 Filipino-Americans within the TriState region have registered to vote, according to Mallonga, who George Helmy (second from right) state Director for Sen. Corey said his group is holding registration drives throughout the year. Booker, and Dinesh Surawasnshi (far right) agree to relay to Sen. Booker the issues and concerns raised during their meeting with George Helmy remarked that the Filipino American population in Consul General de Leon, Merit Salud (far left) and JT Mallonga of New Jersey was well-educated, community-oriented and well inteNaFFAA. grated into the New Jersey public and that Sen. Booker was very
keen on forging closer ties with the community.
De Leon cited the presence of several Filipino-owned small businesses in New Jersey and also brpight up the ongoing diplomatic row with China on the maritime entitlement issues of the West Philippine Sea. Helmy and Suryawanshi promised to relay the community’s concerns with Sen. Booker. The meeting with Sen. Booker’s representatives stemmed from a meeting the Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. last January, in which the New York Consulate General and NaFFAA agreed to partner in forging the Filipinos community’s ties with U.S. legislators in pursuit of Filipino American concerns.
Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Appoints Fil-Am Leader Jason Tengco was recently appointed by the campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ts new AsianAmerican Pacific Islander Outreach Director. Prior to his appointment, Tengco has served as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The campaign has said of Tengco as "Jason is passionate about engaging AAPIs in the political process, building a pipeline for youth empowerment, and ensuring that the AAPI community's diverse issues are heard and addressed." Tengco was one of the main speakers at 11th NaFFAA National Empowerment Conference held in San Diego, CA in 2014. Photo and article on facebook 3
Bataan Legacy Historical Society Leads Delegation to Sacramento to Implement AB199 March 27, 2016 (Berkeley, CA) – Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) led a delegation of Filipino American community leaders during the March 24, 2016 meeting of the History-Social Science Subject Matter Committee (SMC) of the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) in Sacramento. Since 2014 BLHS has been working with the IQC of the California Department of Education to implement AB199, a California bill that was passed in 2011 but never implemented. The bill “encourages for the inclusion of the role of the Filipino soldiers during WWII in the history social sciences curriculum framework for Grades 7-12.” BLHS has gone beyond the mandate of AB199 and was able to expand the initial proposed curriculum framework of two sentences to a page and a half to include World War II in the Philippines. The SMC Committee Members, chaired by Bill Honig, discussed the comments received during the 60-day public review in January and February with the California History Social Sciences Project (CHSSP) which wrote the text of the curriculum framework and made its own recommendations to the SMC. Although the meeting was open to the public, it was not allowed to participate in the discussion until the very end during the public comments portion of only one minute per person. The SMC Committee approved two key points from the BLHS recommendation: that the Filipino and American soldiers served under the U.S. Army and that the retreat to Bataan was a strategic move (based on War Plan Orange 3). Bataan Legacy received numerous letters of support for its recommendations: Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco, Hydra Mendoza, Commissioner, San Francisco Board of Education, Fiona Ma, Chairwoman, State Board of Equalization and one of the sponsors of AB199, Philippine Consul General Henry Bensurto, Jr., Major General Antonio Taguba, Major General Eldon Regua, Brigadier General Oscar Hilman, Filipino American Development Foundation, Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., Philippine American Press Club and United Federation of Filipino-American Educators Sacramento and Vicinity Chapter. The BLHS delegation led by Executive Director Cecilia Gaerlan and Filipino American Arts Exposition President Al Perez included Filipino and American community leaders from the Bay Area, Davis and Sacramento areas.
Front Left to Right: Bobby Roy, Perry Diaz, Consul Reggie Bernabe, Judge Betty Bucat, Al Perez, Mona Pasquil, Ruth Asmundson, Gemma DeOcampo, Jeannete Adi, Rick Villarina and Murray Navarro. Back: Robert Hansen, Ray Cordoba, Cecilia Gaerlan and Laymon Jones. Not in the picture, Manuel Bella, Mary Jean Allarey and Dolores Diaz.
The group also met with California Appointments Secretary Mona Pasquil to apprise her of the current status of the AB199 implementation and to get her advice moving forward. BLHS and its supporters will continue to work for its recommendations on the curriculum framework until its approval by the State Board of Education in May, after which it will start work on developing the curriculum template. Contrbuted
Meeting of History-Social Science Subject Matter Committee, California Department of Education, March 24, 2016 in Sacramento.
L to R: Rick Villarina, Cecilia Gaerlan, Manuel Bella, Al Perez, Gemma De Ocampo, Robert Hansen, Ray Cordoba and Jeanette Adi.
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A Discussion on Climate Change at the 12th NEC? As Section 15.3 of the NaFFAA By-laws states, "Issues of national interest and advocacy concerning the life of Filipino Americans in the US shall be presented at these conferences." Section 15.3 Agenda: the Federations Board of Governors, upon consultation with the Regional Directors, Standing Committees and Commissions shall formulate the agenda of the empowerment conference. Issues of national interest and advocacy concerning the life of Filipino Americans in the US shall be presented at these conferences. These agenda items must be approved during the planning stages of the Empowerment Conference, no less than two (2) months prior to the date of the conference. Rodel Rodis is a proponent of this discussion. He is a member of NaFFAA’s Board of Governors and Legal Counsel Chief for the organization. He explained “I can think of no issue of greater national (and international) interest and advocacy for our community in the US and in the Philippines than the threat of Climate Change. Former Vice President Al Gore was in the Philippines recently where he held a climate change seminar for 1,000 people including 500 Filipinos to discuss the threat of climate change to the world. The group visited Leyte to see the impact of Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. Gore observed that the rate of sea level rise is projected to be two or three times faster in the Philippines. This means that we can expect more Yolandas in the future and we will be perpetually raising funds in the US to help the victims. We have to be proactive on this issue and not just reactive.” Rodel strongly recommends to invite former Vice -President Al Gore to speak about Climate Change at the 12th National Empowerment Conference in Philadelphia this August. He said that “It is early enough that we should be able to reach him and invite him to speak. He will be a big draw to get NaFFAA delegates and the mainstream.” Rodel also cited the message of Pope Francis when he visited the White House last year, he said "Climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change." NaFFAA National is a monthly newsletter with the goal of circulating information on NaFFAA’s advocacy events and projects, appointments, messages from leadership and other related activities in the Filipino American community.
Ryan Tejero
Editor-In-Chief ryantejero@yahoo.com
Eduardo “Ed” Navarra ejn0115@aol.com
Jon Melegrito
jdmelegrito@gmail.com
Bing Branigin
MCBranigin@aol.com Please forward event announcements and news articles in your community for April issue by the 25th. Submission must be in word format and pictures are in jpeg formats. Thank you to all March contributors !le
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