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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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NEW YORK --- Tuesday's primary elections didn't bid well to Filipino American Gonzalo "Jun" Policarpio, a candidate for the 5th Congressional District of New York. He lost to Stephen Graves, the Republican Party's favored candidate to run against incumbent Democrat Gary Ackerman. He received 477 votes against Graves' 1,335.
But our very own Policarpio was not disappointed with the turnout. "I'm fully energized. I have launched my independent campaign yesterday (Sept. 15) and the fight is on," he said in a telephone interview. He
believes he can still win the general election over his opponents; namely, Graves and Ackerman.
To any Filipino American who runs for public office -- like Policarpio, Roehl Sybing of Staten Island and Charley Gonzales of Jackson Heights -- you would appreciate their ambition, their determination to succeed and their readiness to serve.
Unfortunately, there's not enough support they could muster from our community. Either we consider their candidacies as a long shot or we do not understand the importance of having our voice heard where it matters.
Do we really have a long way to go to achieve political empowerment?
That's a question that has been bugging me for quite some time. Despite calls for empowerment by a national organization such as the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), I don't understand why it would not allow the formation of a political action committee (PAC) associated to its name.
A PAC, such as that proposed by NaFFAA New Jersey chapter headed by lawyer JT Mallonga, would really do great service for any Filipino American running for public office. Or if we do not have a candidate from our own, we would make our political presence known to both parties.
Although NaFFAA is a 501 (c) 3 organization, I don't think it would conflict with a PAC that is incorporated, managed and operated independently from NaFFAA. Adding the name of NaFFAA as a national organization would give more credence than a simple PAC. Up to now, NaFFAA's hesitancy to allow PACs to exist is a source of disappointment by some community leaders.
In late August, I received a press release from the American Nurses Association PAC (ANA-PAC) and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) endorsing the re-election of Major Owens of Brooklyn who is currently serving his 11th term in Congress.
ANA-PAC, independent of ANA, is a bipartisan PAC that supports candidates for federal office who have demonstrated their support for the legislative and regulatory aims of the ANA. ANA is the only full service professional organization representing the interest of the nation's registered nurse population.
If ANA can establish its own PAC, why can't NaFFAA? I know it's like pulling hair but someone in the hierarchy of NaFFAA has to study how ANA did this and adopt our own. Would community leaders who are in the nursing profession such as Filipinas Lowery, Lolita Compas or Cora Reyes, care to take a look at this?
If we are serious at pursuing political empowerment, we have to do our best in making our presence. And Mallonga's suggestion is the key. We can't just throw our hands in the air and wait for some magical wand to let things happen. NaFFAA has to realize that it could do a lot in extending its name to be used by independently run PACs.
Imagine the impact it creates if each state that is affiliated with NaFFAA have their PACs? That would certainly boost our candidates such as Policarpio, Sybing, Gonzales and others who are eyeing to run for public office.
As I said, I appreciate the ambition and determination of our candidates. They are determined to serve. But they can't do it alone. They need our support and NaFFAA can do a lot, not only in voter registration but also in voter education and helping in their campaign regardless of political party affiliation.
We have longed aspired for political empowerment. But unless we take what our hearts believe and our minds conceive into action, we won't achieve. Our dreams will remain where they are -- unfulfilled.
And for Jun Policarpio, although his journey may take a long haul, like other people, I am confident he is leaving a footprint for future Filipino American candidates to follow.
I just hope that if not NaFFAA, a similar organization would take up the challenge of making our political empowerment dream a reality.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com.
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I miss school. I miss having to get up at the same time everyday without having to think of what to wear -- because we had a uniform (even if it was a hideous orange color); or of how the day would go because classes were scheduled. I miss recess and lunch and the routine of it all.
But more than actually going to school, I miss the excitement that came with the start of a new school year. Most of all, I miss back to school shopping. Since clothes weren’t part of the deal, back-to-school meant mainly school supply shopping for me and my friends.
I remember, the first time I shopped with my friends, I was 12, and we went to the National Book Store in Greenhills, where we stocked up on Corona notebooks and Kilometrico pens – every year there was something “uso” (trendy).
That year it was Corona notebooks, the next year it would be those fancy binders called Trapper Keepers which only a lucky few possessed (They were purchased on their US summer vacations, or purchased for them as pasalubong.), and later would come the PILOT pens and in college, the multi-functional Filofax. (Yes, I am dating myself because this is before hand-held PDA devices and hi-tech celphones.)
I eventually had my own Trapper Keeper but by then the trend was fading and giving way to other binders and notebooks. I was never a trend-setter anyway, but I did like my TK, with its compartments and wide-lined paper (which by the way, also had to be “imported” because the local three-ring binder fillers had lines that were single-spaced instead of double-spaced.)
When I reached high school, the race to get the fanciest school supplies didn’t matter anymore at least as much as your brand of hair-spray. Maybe we were growing up, or growing vain.
It is hard to avoid this consumer-driven back-to-school culture that drives parents up the wall with their kids demanding the latest gadgets and the coolest clothes. But as parents, we must learn to set limits. And can anyone remind kids that the latest coolest must-haves aren’t what school’s about?
Tomorrow, my son goes to pre-school for the first time, and I will remind him to have fun, make friends and learn. But I have a nagging feeling he’ll come back and tell me about his classmate’s cool Spiderman lunchbox.
END
E-mail me. manilagirl01@hotmail.com Visit www.manila-girl.com
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