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For the past 21 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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CHICAGO – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be one of the keynote speakers at the 8th NaFFAA National Empowerment Conference from Sept. 26-28 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington, according to National NaFFAA Chair Alma Quintans Kern.
A press release issued by Ning Rogge, media relations manager of the 8th Empowerment Conference of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), also said that presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain have also been invited to the three day conference.
During Fifth NaFFAA’s Empowerment Conference in San Jose, California and the First Global Networking Convention in San Francisco in 2002 when President Arroyo was invited to speak, she addressed the event “via satellite” and sent First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as her representative.
Other invited guests at this biennial conference next month include Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims, and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Conference speakers are Scott Oki, founder and chairman of Oki Golf and Oki Developments, Paul Jensen of Microsoft, and Tiffany McVeety of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The conference that will be held in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Filipino Chamber of Commerce will be attended by more than 500 community leaders and advocates throughout the United States, the Philippines and Australia.
The theme of the conference is how to "Forge a New Filipino American Agenda for the 21st Century" that will promote the welfare and well being of Filipinos and Filipino- Americans by fostering unity and empowerment.
"As a national Filipino American organization, it is important for our community to hear what our public officials have to say about the issues affecting us," states Ms. Kern.
"While we cannot endorse political candidates due to our tax-exempt status, we hope to encourage Filipino Americans to be actively involved in getting out the vote in November and become more engaged in the elections. This is what community empowerment is all about.
"NaFFAA would like to invite you to our 8th national conference. The conference will focus on political empowerment, human and health services, economic development, youth education, cultural programs, the media, and arts. It will be an opportunity to meet community leaders and advocates from different states and countries who have championed the causes of Filipinos and Filipino Americans and hear their successes to move forward and be empowered at all levels."
Adds Alex Borromeo, president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest: "We are really energized by this first collaborative conference between the Chamber here in the Pacific Northwest and NaFFAA. Our goal is to help forge partnerships and connect small to medium-sized businesses, especially minority-owned, with Fortune 500 companies and government. These agencies will be available to discuss business opportunities and initiate preliminary decisions for new partnerships."
NaFFAA's purpose is to monitor legislation and public policy issues affecting Filipino Americans and work in coalition with other national groups around common issues and concerns. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and recognized by policy-makers, private industry and national advocacy groups as the voice of Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the nation. It is a non-partisan, non-profit national affiliation of more than five hundred Filipino-American institutions and umbrella organizations. Its twelve regions cover the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Marianas.
The registration fee is $195 per NaFFAA delegate, which includes all workshops, materials, meals, and a gala dinner. Registration fee for Chamber attendee is $125 including lunch. Reservations for booth exhibitors are also available at $200 for non-profit organizations and $400 for commercial exhibitors. For business tract attendees, the fee is $125 including lunch.
Parties interested to attend the conference as exhibitor may contact Mariela Fletcher at marielfletch@msn.com or Tel. 206-892-0075 or visit www.naffaa-pacnw.org. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday night said at least 26 Filipino seamen have been seized by gunmen in the Gulf of Aden off north Somalia in a series of attacks as an international maritime body urged the United Nations to restore law and order to the notorious African waters.
In a text message to GMANews.TV, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr, citing the reports from Philippine Embassy in Nairobi and local manning agencies, said the Filipinos are among the crewmen of two ships recently hijacked by suspected Somali pirates.
The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes Conejos said that palm oil-laden tanker MT Bunga Melati 2, owned and operated by MISC Berhad of Malaysia, has 39 crewmen, including 10 Filipino seamen.
The DFA official said MT Bunga Melati 2 was hijacked on August 19.
Meanwhile, the chemical tanker MT Irene, a Panama flag and operated by Japan’s
Koyo Company, has 19 crewmen including 16 Filipino seamen. Suspected pirates seized the tanker on Thursday.
The message added that the DFA has instructed the Philippine Embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Nairobi to coordinate with the ship owners, international maritime authorities and host government on safe and speedy release of all crewmembers.
The Associated Press later Thursday reported that pirates also seized a German ship off the coast of Somalia, the third hijacking in a day.
Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau told AP that the German-operated cargo ship was seized at about 0900 GMT Thursday in the Gulf of Aden off the Somalian coast. He said the hijacking occurred hours after a Japanese- operated tanker and an Iranian ship off the coast of Somalia were hijacked in the same area.
Choong said three hijackings in a day "is unheard of." So far seven ships have been hijacked in the important African shipping lane since June 20.
Choong, who heads IMB's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, strongly urged the United Nations "to take serious action to stop this menace."
Choong said there has been no communication so far with any of the hijacked vessels. But a multi-coalition naval force in the area has been informed and is "taking action." The naval force includes the United States, France, Germany, Pakistan, Britain and Canada, which currently holds the rotating command.
The IMB also issued an urgent warning to all ships in the Gulf of Aden to maintain a strict watch.
Choong said pirates seized a Japanese-owned cargo ship with 20 Filipino sailors on July 20 in the gulf. A Nigerian vessel was later hijacked followed by a Thai cargo ship with 28 crew members earlier this month. Pirates in all of those cases demanded ransom for the release of the crews, and negotiations are continuing, he said.
The impoverished country of Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and foreign vessels are frequently seized for ransom by pirates armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons, making it difficult and expensive to deliver aid to the region.
In June, the U.N. Security Council voted to allow international warships to enter Somali waters to combat the problem. But its 1,880-mile coastline — the longest in Africa — remains virtually unpoliced. - GMANews.TV/ AP
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PALATINE – A retired county employee feels that his marriage to a Filipina employee is getting to be a liability as he is trying to raise a family.
Richard Holmes of 476 Geri Court of Palatine, Illinois said that his neighbor appears to be getting the breaks in his dispute for a small patch of land owned by the Village of Palatine.
“I feel I am being discriminated against by my neighbor and some officials of Palatine village because I happened to be married to a minority woman,” Mr. Holmes told this reporter.
It all started when Holmes complained to his neighbor, Greg Sobkowiak, against filling dirt to a “path eight-inch down and eight-inch wide by six-foot long” after he earlier dug and “filled it with pea gravel.” But it turned out that the small piece of land in dispute is owned by the Village of Palatine.
When Elias Koutas, Palatine’s assistant public works director of the Department of Public Works, stepped in the dispute, Mr. Koutas asked Mr. Holmes to “re-plant grass in the right-of-way.”
But Mr. Holmes is hesitating to do so because it could confirm Palatine police allegation that he (Holmes) “readily admitted he sprayed the grass with a grass killing liquid.” Although, he was cited by police as saying that “he believes the grass is inside his property line and therefore he can do whatever he pleases. This is an ongoing problem and both have been advised to confirm the property line with the Palatine zoning department.”
Holmes, however, has misgivings for following Mr. Koutas’ advice to plant grass because at one time, his Filipino wife, Violeta (nee: Bolodo) and his stepson, Louie Salisid, saw Mr. Sobkowiak digging up the disputed area.
The previous exchange between Holmes and Sobkowiak has turned personal when Holmes investigated Sobkowiak’s claim that he (Sobkowiak) is a licensed land surveyor. Sobkowiak’s claim, however, did not check out.
In his effort to convince Mr. Holmes that he could draw the dividing line between their properties, Mr. Sobkowiak told Mr. Holmes that he is a licensed land surveyor. This prompted Mr. Holmes to inquire from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) if Mr. Sobkowiak is a licensed surveyor.
Ms. Jody Watson, executive assistant of IDFPR, wrote Mr. Holmes that “we have no record of (a) Greg Sokowiak holding a license as a land surveyor in the State of Illinois.”
Mr. Holmes said even Palatine Councilman Scott Lamerand, Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen and Palatine Mayor Rita L. Mullins would not join his corner on the matter.
He feels that he could not get a fair hearing from these officials because he is married to a Filipina. “What they don’t know is that me and my wife, Violy, are both registered voters and we could certainly be voting for the rival of Mayor Mullins in the coming election.” Mr. Holmes explained.
Holmes said his only option now is to take the matter to court.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson of Mayor Cullins said she was aware of the case but she did not make any further comment.
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Hold departure order for 3 out of 4 Aranetas reversed
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NEW YORK– Clear skies have temporarily appeared for embattled company, LBC.
The Philippine Justice Department recently reversed a hold-departure order for three out of four children of patriarch Carlos Araneta.
The Aranetas who were initially involved in the order issued last May and now free to fly out of the country are: Fernando Araneta, Monica Araneta and company CEO Santiago Araneta.
However, eldest son Juan Carlos Araneta’s hold-departure order was not reversed because another case filed against him.
The order was issued as a result of a Delaware Supreme Court ruling that their father had “denuded” ATR-Kimeng company’s assets to members of the Araneta family.
The court awarded $25 million to ATR-Kimeng corporation , which is headed by Araneta’s childhood friend and fellow La Sallian, Ramon Arnaiz.
US court records showed that Carlos had declared bankruptcy in the US and had also transferred a multi-million dollar house to his daughter Monica, who is based in Manila.
The Araneta siblings are all Spanish citizens and have failed since December to attend the hearings before the Makati Regional Trial Court judge Encarnacion Jaja-Moya.
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