NaFFAA National is the official online newsletter of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations. It is published monthly and is circulated in 51 states through NaFFAA's 13 regions. Please send comments to your editor at [email protected]. Thank you and enjoy!
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As State Chair, then, my primary goal was to bring Filipinos across the Commonwealth together through NaFFAA. It was not easy but with persistence and hard work, it became a reali- ty. We now have members from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and surrounding counties. I attribute this in part to the success of the annual State Summit conference that started in 2011 covering topics that are relevant to the locals, with the second generation as our partners. I be- lieved then that it is never too soon to partner with our future leaders. In unison with the national initiatives I had the privilege to join the efforts, visiting elected officials in various counties and cit- ies of the Commonwealth while reaching out to the grassroots. It is gratifying to see the twinkle in the eyes of our people in the remote / underserved areas when they learn that there is help out there. As State chair, I literally hit the ground running. At the time the Immigration case of a medi- cal colleague, practicing in an underserved area was referred to us by the Philippine Consulate General of New York. NaFFAA Pennsylvania with the help of then Region 1 Chair, Jt Mallonga, launched an extensive campaign to get the support of our local elected officials. The deportation process was stalled and the family remains in the US today. I have dedicated my whole adult life helping the underprivileged and underserved. As a medical doctor specializing in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, advocating for the disadvantaged and instilling hope to the downtrodden is second to none. My involvement in other groups: Presi- dent, Philippine Folk Arts Society, Inc.; Member, Pan Asian Association of Greater Philadelphia; Executive Board Member, Philadelphia Police Asian American Advisory Committee; Member, Philadelphia Political Action Committee; and was also invited to be in the FBI Philadelphia Multi cultural Advisory Committee, gives me the opportunity, extensive network, and a unique forum where I can present and advocate for the interests of the Filipinos. In the process NaFFAA and what it stands for is slowly get- ting noticed. Elected officials begin to recognize our presence and in October 4, 2013, a House Resolution was passed in the Pennsylvania State Assembly recognizing October as Philippine History month. The City Council of Philadelphia also passed a resolution recognizing the same. NaFFAA’s strength lies on its diverse, dedicated, and committed members who are distinguished in their own field of expertise who share their passion of giving back. To top this, is the increasing interest among the younger generation to get in- volved. I hope that with the successful “passing the baton” to our future leaders, NaFFAA will become the national organization of Filipinos recognized by the mainstream as the voice and face of the Filipinos and Filipino Americans. To my fellow members of NaFFAA, let us continue the journey together while we nurture our future leaders. Let ’s part- ner with one another to seek for better ways to achieve our goals as a community. Let us come together, with concerted efforts to create the loudest, but one voice of building a strong and empowered Filipino American community. While keeping the legacy of our Forebears, who paved the way to make our journey so much easier, let us take upon ourselves, to further secure a path to empower our generations to come. Let it be our mission to educate our community about what NaFFAA can do for Filipino Americans, today and the future! It was in 2004 when I learned what NaFFAA was all about. I was invited to attend the NEC in Chi- cago. The Convention was an eye opener in many ways for me. With all the excellent motivational speak- ers of the forums I chose to attend, the message that was screaming in front of me was EMPOWERMENT, yes empowerment of the people we represent and love dearly. I was inspired and challenged to serve the “NaFFAA – way”. Right away I decided to get involved with NaFFAA, and the rest is history. I became the Vice-Chair in 2005, and subsequently the Chair in 2007 – 2014 for the State of Pennsylvania. This year, I was elected Region 1 Chair. Leader on the Spot What’s Inside? 2nd Anniversary ………………. 2 FAHM PA …………………………..3 FAHM IA …………………………...3 FAHM MO …………………………4 TPS…………………………………….5 AE Scholarship ………………….5 Outstanding Leaders ………..6 FilVote ……………………………..7 FAHM MI ………………………….8 NaFFAA Applicaon ………….9 Aida Rivera, MD Region 1 Chair
Transcript
As State Chair, then, my primary goal was to bring Filipinos across the Commonwealth together through NaFFAA. It was not easy but with persistence and hard work, it became a reali-ty. We now have members from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and surrounding counties. I attribute this in part to the success of the annual State Summit conference that started in 2011 covering topics that are relevant to the locals, with the second generation as our partners. I be-lieved then that it is never too soon to partner with our future leaders. In unison with the national initiatives I had the privilege to join the efforts, visiting elected officials in various counties and cit-ies of the Commonwealth while reaching out to the grassroots. It is gratifying to see the twinkle in the eyes of our people in the remote / underserved areas when they learn that there is help out there. As State chair, I literally hit the ground running. At the time the Immigration case of a medi-cal colleague, practicing in an underserved area was referred to us by the Philippine Consulate General of New York. NaFFAA Pennsylvania with the help of then Region 1 Chair, Jt Mallonga, launched an extensive campaign to get the support of our local elected officials. The deportation process was stalled and the family remains in the US today. I have dedicated my whole adult life helping the underprivileged and underserved. As a medical doctor specializing in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, advocating for the disadvantaged and instilling hope to the downtrodden is second to none. My involvement in other groups: Presi-dent, Philippine Folk Arts Society, Inc.; Member, Pan Asian Association of Greater Philadelphia; Executive Board Member, Philadelphia Police Asian American Advisory Committee; Member, Philadelphia Political Action Committee; and was also invited to be in the FBI Philadelphia Multi cultural Advisory Committee, gives me the opportunity, extensive network, and a unique forum
where I can present and advocate for the interests of the Filipinos. In the process NaFFAA and what it stands for is slowly get-ting noticed. Elected officials begin to recognize our presence and in October 4, 2013, a House Resolution was passed in the Pennsylvania State Assembly recognizing October as Philippine History month. The City Council of Philadelphia also passed a resolution recognizing the same. NaFFAA’s strength lies on its diverse, dedicated, and committed members who are distinguished in their own field of expertise who share their passion of giving back. To top this, is the increasing interest among the younger generation to get in-volved. I hope that with the successful “passing the baton” to our future leaders, NaFFAA will become the national organization of Filipinos recognized by the mainstream as the voice and face of the Filipinos and Filipino Americans. To my fellow members of NaFFAA, let us continue the journey together while we nurture our future leaders. Let’s part-ner with one another to seek for better ways to achieve our goals as a community. Let us come together, with concerted efforts to create the loudest, but one voice of building a strong and empowered Filipino American community. While keeping the legacy of our Forebears, who paved the way to make our journey so much easier, let us take upon ourselves, to further secure a path to empower our generations to come. Let it be our mission to educate our community about what NaFFAA can do for Filipino Americans, today and the future!
It was in 2004 when I learned what NaFFAA was all about. I was invited to attend the NEC in Chi-cago. The Convention was an eye opener in many ways for me. With all the excellent motivational speak-ers of the forums I chose to attend, the message that was screaming in front of me was EMPOWERMENT, yes empowerment of the people we represent and love dearly. I was inspired and challenged to serve the “NaFFAA – way”. Right away I decided to get involved with NaFFAA, and the rest is history. I became the Vice-Chair in 2005, and subsequently the Chair in 2007 – 2014 for the State of Pennsylvania. This year, I was elected Region 1 Chair.
Leader on the Spot
What’s Inside?
2nd Anniversary ………………. 2 FAHM PA …………………………..3 FAHM IA …………………………...3 FAHM MO …………………………4 TPS…………………………………….5 AE Scholarship ………………….5 Outstanding Leaders ………..6 FilVote ……………………………..7 FAHM MI ………………………….8 NaFFAA Application ………….9
Aida Rivera, MD Region 1 Chair
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Communications is a key factor in a successful organization's operation. NaFFAA National Newslet-ter just proved that. Our Newsletter is one of the ways that we can share community events and projects. It is a tool to convey our messages to one another so we are all aware of what is happening in our state, region and at the national level. And these are very effective ways of exchanging ideas to what is happening in NaFFAA as a whole. Let us continue in supporting our Newsletter. May we have more anniversaries to come. Lastly, con-gratulations to our very dedicated and highly qualified Editor-in-Chief for always doing an outstanding job of publishing a regular NaFFAA Newsletter.
Willie Dechavez, Michigan State Chair
NaFFAA Newsletter's editor and staff deserve a rousing commendation for put-ting out a publication that has kept us informed, enlightened and engaged in the last two years. That's quite a feat in itself. Thank you Ryan for your diligence, hard work and com-munity service. Jon Melegrito, NaFFAA National Board of Governors (Maryland)
"Hard work, inspired talent and tenacity made the NAFFAA Newsletter reach its 2nd year of publication. Bravo, Editor-in-Chief Ryan Tejero!!! God's blessings! Loida Nicolas-Lewis, NaFFAA Founder & Past National Chair (New York)
NaFFAA Newsletter is our great source of activity information, updates and pro-grams. The contents are inspirational motivation for us to serve the best interest of the Fili-pino community. Congratulations for its 2nd year anniversary and thank you Ryan Tejero for the initiatives and the splendid job in regularly publishing this very important commu-nication document.
Romeo S. Jurani, P.E. NaFFAA National Board of Governors (Nevada)
Congratulations and thank you to the NaFFAA National Newsletter Editorial Staff, especially to Ryan Tejero, for 2 years of committed service. May we continue to propragate and proclaim NaFFAA’s work on advocacy and empowerment of Filipinos and Filipino Americans through the newsletter. Mabuhay ang NaFFAA! Mabuhay ang NaFFAA Nation-al Newsletter!
Rommel Rivera, MD NaFFAA National Task Force Committee Chair (Pennsylvania)
CONGRATULATIONS NaFFAA NATIONAL NEWSLETTER on its Second Anniversary! Special thanks to former NaFFAA Chair Ed Navarra and to Editor Ryan Tejero for conceiving the idea of a National Newsletter and making it a reality and then keeping it going. The newsletter is what ties all the Regions together and keeps us aware of what members are doing in their respective Regions. The stories have been well written and the photos revealing. The idea of featuring personalities of the different Regions is great because we learn more about the per-son other than the casual conversations during official teleconferences or meetings which are so brief. The newslet-ter is a meaningful vehicle through which we can bring up the issues that affect our Filipino American communi-ties. Best wishes for continued success to the NaFFAA National Newsletter and to its Editor and Staff.
Rozita V. Lee, NaFFAA National Board of Governors (Nevada)
NaFFAA NEWSLETTER is ultimate "journalism" at its best! For the past two years, NaFFAA has clearly de-fined its mission through: COMPASSION via the creation of Disaster Relief Program, Free Legal Services, TPS, FIL-VETS, Manongs' heroism, and many others. ENTHUSIASM where everyone works with esteemed and engaged lead-ership to NaFFAA's young professionals. TOLERANCE in fair and just publication by respecting the rights of every
members. SINCERITY by offering everyone an opportunity to be the best of themselves as validated in "Leader on The Spot" segment. FAITH in NaFFAA, where there is trust that everything will be alright by embracing NaFFAA's best practices and challenges. Most of all, congratulations to the unconditional generosity of NaFFAA journalists headed by Ryan Tejero and Website Administrator Armin Sayson. Year 2 success is not possible, of course, without the able leadership of Immediate Past National Chair Ed Navarra and all the 12 regions! NaFFAA Rocks!
Marilyn Doromal, NaFFAA Region 4 Chair (Georgia)
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NaFFAA Region 1, Other Filipino American Organizations in Philadelphia Celebrate FAHM 2014
The Filipino-American community of Greater Philadelphia, led by the Filipino American Association of Philadelphia Inc. (FAAPI) in collaboration with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (MAP), the National Federation of Filipino American Associations-Region 1 (NaFFAA-R1), the Filipino American National Historical Society- PA (FANHS-PA), and the Philippine Folk Arts Society Inc. (PFASI), celebrated Filipino American His-tory Month on October 26, 2014, with cultural presenta-tions at the Filipino American Mural Site in Philadelph-ia. Entitled "Alab Ng Puso" (Hearts Ablaze): 100 years of Filipinos in Greater Philadelphia, this towering mural (60feet x20feet) is the first outdoor Filipino mural in the East Coast and the first Filipino landmark in the "Cradle of American Liberty." The mural is located in Northeast Philadelphia along Bustleton Avenue, the
only street in Philadelphia where most of the Filipino businesses are and where most of the city's Filipinos reside. The Filipino American Mural is a joint project of the Filipino American community lead by the Filipino American Associa-tion of Philadelphia (FAAPI), founded in 1912 and reportedly the oldest continuously active Filipino American association in the US and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (MAP). MAP stands as a national and international model for arts organiza-tions, with a 30-year track record of leveraging the community-based process of public art to catalyze social progress and posi-tive change within Philadelphia's communities.
NaFFAA Iowa takes pride in the success of Consular Outreach Services held in Des Moines University on October 4,
2014. Filipino Americans came to avail of consular services from the Philippine Consul General Office Chicago. In attendance
were FilAms coming from all over the State of Iowa, including the neighboring cities/states: Minneapolis, MN; Sioux Falls, SD; Lin-
coln and Omaha, NB, and Wichita and Kansas City, MO. NaFFAA Iowa headed by its State Chair Roel Campos hailed the Phil-
ConGen Chicago for providing the much needed services for Filipino Americans. Roel Campos who is also the Region 3East Vice
Chair, thanked all of the volunteers and NaFFAA supporters from different cities in Iowa for a well-organized and well-attended
FilAm event in Iowa. A total of 186 benefited by this Consular Outreach Project, with 78 passport renewals, 22 dual citizenship
applicants, 8 special Power of Attorney certification and documentation, 9 marriage report-
ing, 4 birth reporting and 65 voter registration.
R3East Vice Chair Roel Campos
NaFFAA Iowa Hosts in Des Moines the Most Well-Attended Consular Outreach Services
Photos submitted by Roel Campos
Submitted by Dr. Rommel Rivera
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NaFFAA Missouri staged the biggest Filipino American event in the state,
with a huge number of guests at the 2nd Annual Filipino American History Month
Celebration held on October 11, 2014. This event took place at the St. Peter’s Gym
in the heart of Missouri’s State Capital, Jefferson City. Close to 150 people came to
witness one of the biggest FilAm events held in Missouri. NaFFAA MO State Chair
Anecita Alvizo opened the program by acknowledging important guests who came
all the way from Chicago, IL, Washington D.C. and New Mexico. Jefferson City
Mayor Pro Tem Bob Scrivner welcomed guests and thanked the Filipino American
community for holding the NaFFAA event in Jefferson City. He introduced the city
and named tourist attractions for first time visitors. Philippine Consul General Chica-
go Generoso Calonge praised NaFFAA MO for a successful event commemorating
the Filipino American History Month. He said that he was impressed by the big sup-
port of Filipino Americans to the event. General Lorenzana took the opportunity to
give highlights on the historical significance of Filipino Veterans in America. He en-
couraged everyone to support the initiative to recognize Filipino Veterans with Con-
gressional Gold Medal in recognition of their dedicated service during WW II for the
Americans. Keynote speaker, Dr. Merjjena Hemp presented a moving tribute to the
Veterans. Dr. Hemp also launched and signed her book “Beyond the Shadow of
3000 Pairs of Shoes,” at the event. NaFFAA MO State Chair expressed her grati-
tude to all of the community leaders and members present.
A cultural presentation by local and out of state FilAm talents and entertain-
ers took the center stage during dinner time. Entertainment provided by homegrown
talents: Jen Jen Pratt, Elite Dance Team, Megan Villanueva, Paulina Camposano,
Robin Herico, NaFFAA Housewives Bayanihan Group, Choreographer Leonor
Wright and Linda Burke, Roma and Amos Long, and the NaFFAA MO Kultura
Dance Group. Award-winning Chicago teen singer, Kayla Tejero, was the guest per-
former at the event. Nelz Bennet was the Master of Ceremonies, with Roma Long as
the official photographer, DJ Fred for Lights, Music and Sounds, and food was ca-
tered by Missouri’s best and authentic Filipino food expert, Ana’s Food Shack.
Dr. Hemp, Gen . Lorenzana, PCG Calonge, Fr. Calazara, NaFFAA Editor, MO State Chair A. Alvizo
MO State Chair A. Alvizo, PCG Calonge, Mayor Scrivner, Gen. Lorenzana
Chicago’s Singer Kayla Tejero NaFFAA Housewives Bayanihan Group
NaFFAA MO Kultura Dance Group
Roma and Amos
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NaFFAA National Chair Calls For Issuance of TPS to PHL National Chair JT Mallonga speaks about the benefits of TPS if granted to the Philippines
Photo and article submitted by W.Dechavez
The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) will con-tinue to push its campaign for the grant by the US government of a Temporary Protect-ed Status (TPS) to the Philippines despite fears that politics could be hindering the issu-ance of the much sought proclamation. This was learned from JT Mallonga, new nation-al NaFFAA chairman, when he was interviewed by the Filipino Star at the sideline of NaFFAA-Michigan’s 11
th Annual Dinner held last Oct. 3 at the Somerset Inn in Troy.
If granted, the TPS would benefit thousands of Filipinos who are overstaying in the US. They would be temporarily spared deportation if they can prove that they or their immediate relatives are victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). The TPS, which is being requested by the Philippine government for humanitarian considerations, is seen as a complementary measure for the efforts to speed up the rehabilitation of the devastated villages in Tacloban and other areas. Mallonga said that Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario sent recently a letter to US State Secretary John and Homeland Security Secretary J. John-son to reiterate the request for the issuance of the TPS. He said that NaFFAA and other Filipino-American leaders also met last month with Secretary Johnson, Commissioner Alan Bersin of the US Customs and Border Protection and US CIS Director Leon Rodri-guez to follow up the request for TPS. The meeting was arranged by the Philippine Em-bassy.
Mallonga feared that politics could be the reason for the delay in the issuance of the TPS, noting that the Republicans are against any measure that benefits illegal aliens. If it is ever granted, it could be issued after the coming elections of gover-nors, US senators, state representatives and other officials, he said. On FilVote, which is a movement initiated by NaFAA to register all Filipino-American voters in the US, Mallonga thanked NaFFAA-Michigan Chairperson Willie Dechavez for his register-and-vote drive which will be launched soon. He said that if all eligible Filipino-Americans in the US register and vote, they would have a political clout which could translate to more govern-ment services to them. Mallonga, who lives in New York, was one of the three speakers who paid tribute to immediate past NaFFAA Chairman Ed Navarra. He said he is continuing the various projects of Navarra who he described as an outstanding leader. After the trib-ute, Navarra was given a plaque of citation.
NaFFAA National Chair JT Mallonga
The Committee of the Alex Esclamado Scholarship Grant, headed by Gloria Caoile (NV), Giselle Rushford (CO), Jon Melegrito (MD), Ryan Tejero (IL) and Luly Esclamado (CA) as Adviser, is proud to announce the first two recipients of NaFFAA’s Scholarship Pro-gram. The two solid applicants met all the requirements, thus, the Committee unanimously awarded CHRISTINA PETERSEN and JOSHUA CORREA each the one time scholarship of $l,000.00 Both applicants are from Colorado.
After this process, the Committee, in consultation with Luly Esclamado, would like to work on increasing visibility of this Scholar-ship Award and will send request to all Regions to make this part of their agenda at all times. New application forms for 2015-2016 will be sent no later than June 1, 2015, and extending the outreach to current Sophomores and Juniors in College. The Committee encouraged the national leadership to make to make this NAFFAA project as part of all fundraising efforts. The Chair for the Committee is open for others who might wish to undertake this role for the next cycle. Please con-tact Gloria Caoile for interest at [email protected].
NaFFAA Awards $1,000 Each to Two
Colorado FilAm Students
Christina Peterson Metropolitan University of Denver
Willie Dechavez, NaFFAA Michigan State Chairperson was honored with "The He-roes that Live to Impact Award" last October 12, 2014. It was presented at the Impact Church by Pastor Keenan Knox. A plaque of recognition was awarded to a teacher in recognition for his/her inspiration, vision and dedication to their students, the staff and community. The nomina-tion of Dechavez was made by the teachers at Blackwell Institute, Detroit Public Schools. He was finally selected by the school for making the most significant contribution to the forward move-ment of the school's mission. Dechavez is also involve in various community projects including civic engagements.
Eduardo Navarra, Immediate Past
NaFFAA National Chair was recognized as Michi-gan’s Outstanding Leader in recognition of his lead-ership in NaFFAA., presented by NaFFAA Michigan at the Annual Banquet held in Troy, MI on October 3, 2014.
Rudy Asercion, NaFFAA San Francisco Chair received the Torch Bearer Award:
Keeper of the flame of the Filipino Idea in Community Service, presented by the Philippine American Press Club, USA on October 2, 2014. He is also this year’s recipient of Distin-guished Citizens Award presented by West Bay in San Francisco on October 26, 2014.
Rodel Rodis, NaFFAA Founder and National Board of Governors, received
this year’s Distinguished Citizens Award presented by West Bay in San Francisco on October 26, 2014.
Major Taguba, a retired major general in the US Ar-my, briefed the community on the new initiative for the Filipino Veterans. The project's mission is to raise awareness through academic research and public education and obtain national recognition of the Filipino American WWII Soldiers for their wartime service to the United States and Philippines from July 1941 to December 1946. It aims to seek an Act of US Con-gress to award a congressional gold medal to the Filipino American WWII soldiers. Major General Taguba estimated that there are over 200,000 Filipino soldiers fought in WWII. Only 16,000 to 17,000 soldiers remain in the US and the Phil-ippines and their death toll is growing.Major Taguba stated that among the minority groups formally recognized by the US for
their role in World War II were Japanese American Nisei Soldiers, Puerto Rican Soldiers, Women Air Services pilots, Navajo Code Talk-ers, Montford Marines and Tuskegee Airmen. He disclosed that he worked on helping the Japanese Americans gain congressional recognition which was successful after 5 years.He urged the community to support the project and requested the support of the Consu-late, together with the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC and other US Posts, to assist in seeking US congressional and govern-ment support. Unlike previous legislative efforts with the Filipino veterans which focused on benefits, he underscored that this is primarily about "recognition" which is long overdue.To move forward, the project created a leadership and governance structure to spearhead the recognition efforts and established a Board of Directors and Regional Directors in 11 regions in the US. This structure will also conduct a national engagement campaign in the Philippines and the US and raise funds and resources to support the mission. Major Gen. Taguba is looking at a more ambitious 2-3 year timeline to accomplish the desired outcomes.Major Taguba recalled the sufferings and adversi-ties of the Filipino WWII Veterans during and even after their services to the US during the briefing. He affirmed that the Filipino WWII Veterans deserve national recognition from the US Congress, the last minority group that remains to be recognized.
The Philippine Consulate General New York hosted the launching of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project by Major General Antonio Taguba on 4 October 2014.
Launching of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project
Reprint from www.newyorkpcg.org
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Meet Our Newly-Appointed National Directors 2014-2016
Jon Melegrito, MD Communications/NaFFAA
Spokesperson
For inquiries on the Strategic Planning, please contact:
