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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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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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Mashantucket, CONNECTICUT --- The Filipino Express, along with six other organizations, were named recipients of the 2005 NaFFAA Leadership Awards.
The awards presentation was held during the Eastern Region Biennial Conference of the National Federation of the Filipino American Associations at the Foxwoods Resorts and Casino Sept.10.
NAFFAA tendered the gala event to recognize and honor organizations or institutions which provide exemplary service to the community.
The Filipino Express was the recipient of the Publications and Information Campaign Award.
On behalf of the weekly newspaper, columnist Ricky Rillera received the plaque of recognition.
In 18 years since its founding in 1986, The Filipino Express has received several recognitions for outstanding journalism, the latest of which was from the New York chapter of the Independent Press Association (IPA), a national association of independent publications with local chapters nationwide committed to social justice and a free press.
Six other community organizations were likewise honored by the NaFFAA for their outstanding achievements, exemplary and dedicated service to the various sectors of society and their contributions to the well-being of people in the Philippines and the Filipino American community in the U.S.
The other awardees were Sagaynon USA, for youth assistance and development; Catanduanes Association USA, for education and literacy development; Building Futures Together Inc., for entrepreneurial development and Promotion; Iskwelahang Pilipino, for arts and culture development and promotion; the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), Westchester and Hudson Valley chapter, for advocacy initiatives; and Bulacan Medical Mission for health and medical assistance.
Sagaynon USA Association, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1992, was set up to foster a close relationship and providing support to town mates in Sagay, Negros Occidental, the association sends thousands of books to its town library and donates computers to the youth programs of five high schools of Sagay.
Elsa Bautista-Olsen, its current president, accepted the award for the association.
Catanduanes Association USA, Inc. represented by its president, was established in 1995, the organization focuses on improving the lives of families in the province. Through its scholarship program, it selects academically-gifted high school students and provides support to their college education until they obtain a degree.
Jimmy Sanchez, received the award in behalf of the association.
Building Futures Together, Inc. (BFTI), a 501(c)3 charitable organization, is devoted entirely to eradicating poverty in the province of Samar, Philippines. Its mission is to empower the poor through social transformation, education and wealth-building programs, one community at a time.
Lourdes Avelino, founder and president of the organization, received the award on behalf of BFTI.
Iskwelahang Pilipino is a non-profit organization established by volunteers in the Greater Boston area.
Founded in 1976, its mission is to create an environment for children to learn their Filipino heritage.
The Filipino American National Historical Society in Seattle, Washington, has recognized Iskwelahang Pilipino as the longest running Pilipino school in America.
With its numerous activities to advance the recognition of Asian Pacific Americans (APA), the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), Westchester and Hudson Valley chapter, was the recipient of the Advocacy Initiatives Award.
The OCA is a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of APAs in the U.S. Its mission is to embrace the hopes and aspirations of nearly 12 million APAs.
Its goals, which the local chapter pursues rigorously, are: first, to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity, and fair treatment; second, to promote civic participation, education and leadership; third, to advance coalitions and community building, and fourth, to foster cultural heritage.
Partnering with several medical organizations, Bulacan Medical Mission has undertaken general and eye surgeries, and dental and medical services to a number of towns in Bulacan such as Malolos, Baliwag, Pulilan and Hagonoy.
It also has served the communities of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; Balanga, Bataan; San Juan Medical Center and the “Ahon Bata” project in the provice of Rizal, including the Feed the Hungry program of Hospicio de San Jose and Sisters of Charity in Manila.
Cora Reyes, its founder, received the award in honor of Bulacan Medical Mission.
The 2005 NaFFAA Leadership Awards committee was chaired by Pacita Ros.
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MANILA --- United States immigration authorities have ordered the deportation of former Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Raymundo Jarque following his arrest in Dallas, Texas.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense, said Jarque will arrive in Manila aboard a Korean Airlines flight 671 around 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Biazon said Jarque and his wife were arrested on Monday, September 19, upon arriving in Dallas. They were taken to an undisclosed detention center and held incommunicado.
On September 22, Biazon said that details of the arrest were still sketchy though he received information that the couple were in Dallas to visit their son.
Biazon said he called up the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC and talked to Ambassador Leonides Caday. The ambassador, Biazon said, told him they have not yet been informed of the arrest.
Caday promised him that the Jarques will be given assistance if needed, Biazon said.
Paul Aquino, president of the Philippine National Oil Corp.-Energy Development Corporation, said Jarque has been released and on his way back to Manila on the evening of September 22. Aquino said the former Army general is a security consultant for the company.
Biazon failed to disclose if Jarque’s wife will accompany him for the trip back to Manila. The senator said the former general’s wife has a health problem and was supposed to undergo a kidney transplant in the US when they were taken into custody.
The procedure was canceled due to Mrs. Jarque’s hypertension, the senator said.
The senator said that Jarque’s arrest may have stemmed from the fact that he was a former NPA member in Negros Island.
Biazon also said that Jarque was highly visible during the peace talks between the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
“His arrest in the US could have been a result of the declaration by the US government that the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front is a terrorist group,” Biazon said.
The CPP and NPA are listed in the US State Department as among groups espousing terrorism in Southeast Asia. (MNS)
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New York City, NEW YORK --- Two types of security mindsets were played out during President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s scheduled appearance at a photo exhibit at the Philippine Consulate here on Monday and Thursday last week on Fifth Avenue in downtown Manhattan.
It was a bit ironic because it turned out that the American government’s, or probably New York’s, security orientation, was much liberal compared to the more rigid and one-dimensional perspective of the Arroyo administration.
Filipino security personnel on Monday, September 12, immediately jumped at the militants as they began to unwrap their protest paraphernalias outside of the consular building.
Robert Roy, Executive Director of the New York City-based Philippine Forum, was quite upset to be told by the security guys to stop their protest, “ala no-permit, no-rally.”
“Hindi naman ito Pilipinas na pwede mo na lang harangin yong mga tao at pagagalitan, tapos ipagtabuyan dahil bawal (This is not like in the Philippines where protesters had to endure verbal abuse and ejection).”
The security personnel, as they were talking to the protesters, were showing in their body movements and expressions that they have all the rights and authority to do what they were doing.
What was really funny was that it took the intervention of a cop from the New York Police Department (NYPD) to ease the tension.
In effect, the cop was telling their Filipino counterparts “you can’t harangue these people and order them to stop protesting.”
The cop, however, requested the protesters to properly position themselves on the sidewalk outside of the consular building so as to ensure movements of pedestrians are not hampered.
The protesters, belonging to the Bayan USA, New York COmmittee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Anakbayan-NY/NJ, New York Coalition for Gloria’s Ouster, Movement for Free Philippines and the Community Action Committee of the Philippine Forum, readily agreed as they unfurled anti- Arroyo slogans and chanted “Gloria, Gloria is a cheat.”
Though Arroyo did not arrive at that day, the protest went on with no untoward incident happening for more than an hour, and with the NYPD securing the protesters, the anti-Arroyo crowd was not harangued again by the Filipino security personnel.
Thursday’s scenario was much more tense because Arroyo confirmed to show up at the exhibit.
The same order was given to some 35 protesters as they again began to unfurl their banners outside the consular building.
“Nakakahiya daw sa presidente na protesta ang sasalubong sa kanya sa consulate (It’s embarrassing if she is greeted at the consulate with a protest),” a protester quoted a Consulate personnel as saying.
Already knowing where to turn to, the protesters sought the protection of the NYPD personnel detailedto provide security there.
A compromise was sought. The protesters agreed to position themselves, still fronting the consular building, but at the other side of the street some 30 meters away.
To the beat of an agong, they began chanting “Go, Gloria, go” with a 20-feet-by-90-feet streamer saying “Oust Arroyo-US Regime.”
The security guys from time to time still tried to talk out the protesters into stopping their picket, hoping Arroyo and her entourage’s arrival at the Conusulate would be a walk in the park.
The presence of an FBI agent, who just requested the protesters to stay where they were staying as they do their thing, emboldened them to say no to Arroyo’s security men who now shifted their approach from a demand to a plea.
As it turned out, it was not a stroll in the park for the embattled president. US security personnel managed to whisk Arroyo out from the vehicle she was riding into the consular building. It took about one minute.
Traffic along Fifth Avenue was not even halted when her entourage arrived. The US servicemen used the cars as a natural barricade to control the flow of traffic and pedestrians from both ends.
Over an hour later, traffic went back to normal as Arroyo went to another function.
The protesters, too, wrapped back their paraphernalias and cleaned the area, exultant and triumphant that they were able to show solidarity with the Filipinos back home who are seeking their president’s ouster.
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MANILA --- The Philippines has been tagged by a US anti-terrorist agency as the Southeast Asian nation with the most number of terrorist groups in operation.
The report cited information provided by the US National Counterterrorism Center (www.tkb.org) that listed 10 terror groups operating in the Philippines.
The agency added terrorist-related attacks against the government and Philippine citizens numbered at least 25 for the first five months of the year.
Among the groups in the NCTC list are: the Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade, Abu Sayyaf Group, Alex Boncayao Brigade, Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, Indigenous People’s Federal Army, Jemaah Islamiyah, Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), New People’s Army (NPA) and al-Qaeda.
The NCTC has a total of 786 groups in its database. Of these groups, 36 operate in Southeast Asia and the Oceania region.
Of the groups tagged in the Philippines, the most prominent organizations are the Abu Sayyaf, Jema’ah Islamiyah, NPA and al-Qaeda.
The Abu Sayyaf gained notoriety for its kidnap-for-ransom and terrorist-related activities in Mindanao. The JI, meanwhile, has been tagged by the government for bomb attacks that killed dozens of people in urban center in Mindanao and even in Metro Manila.
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and has been waging insurgency from the countryside for the past three decades.
Al-Qaeda, reports said, is funneling funds to train terror cells in the Philippines. (MNS)
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