Fil Am August

Issue 6, August 2018 More stories on the web @ TheFilAm.net

RN Cora Reyes honored by N.Y. State on Nurses Week p10 Getting to know the new ConGen Claro Cristobal p2 Loida Nicolas Lewis debuts column ‘On Global Filipinos’ p4

Letter from the Publisher

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Meet the new Consul General Claro Cristobal

he new Consul General in New York, Claro Cristobal, is the kind of storyteller you would want around a campfire or over a bottle of beer.

His answers go around the moon and back, his responses to reporters’ question never direct. He loves to tell stories about his life and his experience as a career diplomat of 30 years.

In a Meet and Greet with the FilAm media – which he called his first official act — he described his leadership style as “inclusive, participative, and results-oriented.”

He said he is not one to break traditions but also one “not averse to starting new things.” He is a consultative type of leader who will “listen to all stakeholders” before making a decision.

This is actually Cristobal’s fourth assignment in New York.

From 1990 to 1993, he served as Third Secretary then Second Secretary at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations. He became consul at the Philippine Consulate from 1993 to 1997. He returned to the home office in Manila where he worked with the Undersecretary for Policy. In 2000, he was back in New York where he served as Minister of the Philippine Mission

Founding Editor Cristina DC Pastor Business & Advertising Manager Rene Pastor

until 2002. On June 30, 2018, he was with the review questions. He agreed appointed Consul General in New York reluctantly and found himself reading with jurisdiction over 10 Northeast a lot of the books. His friend suggested states including New York and New ‘why not take the exams’ since he has Jersey. read many of the books anyway. He did, He recalled the time he was one and passed in 1984. of eight consuls under then Consul However, he lost his eligibility General Romeo Arguelles. Four of the because decided he didn’t want to consuls were given regular consular join the foreign service. He had one assignments, and the other four – year to make up his mind. In 1986, as including himself – were assigned to the government leadership changed the investment promotion unit. hands from Ferdinand Marcos to Cory “It was the biggest number of conAquino, he got a letter from DFA asking suls,” he said. “One consul general, him to reconsider as he had already eight consuls.” passed the exams. He did.

A career diplomat, Cristobal served “In 1987, I realized bring a diplomat is as Philippine ambassador to Egypt a fantastic career,” he said. It’s a career from 2011 to 2015. Before that he was that “never got me bored because every consul general in Hong Kong from 2009 two or three years, I do something to 2011; and consul general in Tokyo different.”

He wanted to be a lawyer but from 2002 to 2007. From 2007 to 2009, He said he never prepared for this ‘serendipity’ had another plan for him. he was the spokesperson at the Departjob, but something in his life seemed to The FilAm Photo ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA). be leading him to a diplomatic career.

In college, he said he wanted to be “Looks like serendipity.” degree in Economics and completed a lawyer and so he studied PhilosBefore joining the diplomatic service, all course requirements for a Ph.D. in ophy. At the time, he did not know Cristobal taught Social Sciences at the Economics from the University of the what a diplomat was and what the University of the Philippines in Iloilo Philippines. He also has a Master’s job entailed. “I never had a sense of City and was a lecturer in Economics Degree in Accountancy from the Polywhat a diplomat is,” he said. But he at the De La Salle University, Manila. technic University of the Philippines. had a ‘kumpare’ who aspired to be a He also held a managerial position at He is a recipient of the Presidential diplomat and was reviewing for the Cocomark, Manila.

Citation Award for 2009-2010 and the foreign service exam. One day, he He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Gawad Mabini Award in 2007. asked Cristobal if he could help him Philosophy (cum laude) and Master’s Cristina DC Pastor

Address P.O. Box 8071 New York, NY 10116

Contributing Writers

Contact Editorial: 848-219-0069 Advertising: 732-428-6318 Thefilamny@gmail.com

Tricia J. Capistrano

Elton Lugay

Joel David

Ludy AstraquilloOngkeko

Wendell Gaa Maricar CP Hampton

The FilAm is a publication of A&V Editorial THE FILAM |

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Mariel Padilla Lindy Rosales

A visit with a Filipino detained by ICE

By Mariel Padilla

In the waiting room, a handful of people wait for the security guard to call their names. An elderly man with a black hat and wooden cane taps his foot. A young woman rocks a baby. Melanie Dulfo enters the detention center, walks past the seated people and tells the security guard behind the counter: “We’re here to visit Ronald.”

This is the second time Dulfo has visited the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey in the past few months.

She’s here as a member of FOCUS, a new coalition of Filipino organizations.

Launched in January, FOCUS—Filipinos March for Community, Unity and Safety—regularly visits Filipinos held in ICE detention centers.

“People in the community don’t really know about the detainments,” says Laura Austria, a FOCUS organizer. “Or if they do, they don’t talk about it.”

Last year, ICE arrests in the country increased by 30 percent, according to Pew Research data. However, the number of non-criminal arrests jumped 146 percent under the Trump administration. Nearly half the immigrants being detained in New Jersey have no criminal history, making it the state with the largest percentage of non-criminal ICE detainees.

The security guard looks Dulfo up and down. Dulfo, who’s 33, is short, about five feet tall with a pixie cut that makes her look 10 years younger.

“I need to see I.D.,” the guard says.

Dulfo hands over her driver’s license.

She stores her purse, phone and car keys in a locker. Then she’s buzzed into the next room, where she removes her shoes and walks through a metal detector.

Laminated signs taped to the doors reminding visitors of what they can’t bring inside.

“This is kind of intense,” Dulfo says, glancing around.

When the opposite wall slides open, Dulfo steps into a small cafeteria with 13 square tables. It’s late morning and almost every table is occupied. Inmates are allowed to speak with visitors for one hour.

||Not a choice

When Dulfo was 19, a college student in the Philippines, she vocally opposed the Philippines’s economic dependency

on overseas workers. More than 10 percent of its GDP comes from remittances sent home by Filipinos working abroad.

“Migration is not a choice,” Dulfo says.

So when her parents moved to New York and told her she would have to come too, Dulfo resisted. She eventually agreed to apply for a U.S. visa when her mom warned she might never see her parents again.

In the U.S., Dulfo stayed involved in migrant workers’ rights. She is the northeast regional coordinator for the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and works at Apicha Community Health Center in Lower Manhattan as the director of community health education.

Dulfo sees the Filipino economic model of forced migration and the Trump administration’s push against immigration as connected issues, especially as ICE detains more and more non-criminal immigrants.

“There are detained people who don’t know what they’re signing and are at the point of giving up,” Dulfo says. “We want to show them there are community members with resources they can tap into. Show them they’re not alone, but part of a larger system.”

||‘The Professor’

Dulfo takes an empty table facing a heavy metal door. After about 10 minutes, Ronald is escorted through the door. In his 50s, Ronald is a little over five feet tall and wearing a navy smock, the color indicating his minimum security status.

“Kuya Ronald,” Dulfo greets, standing up to give him a hug. Because Ronald’s case is still ongoing, his last name is omitted.

Ronald, an electrician from the Philippines, came to the U.S. about 10 years ago.

In January, he was arrested for trespassing on a construction site the he mistakenly thought was abandoned and detained due THE FILAM |

Melanie Dulfo, a community activist who works for immigrant communities.

Facebook photo to his undocumented status. Ronald was looking for old construction equipment to sell with several other men, but he was the only one to get caught.

Twenty detainees live in each dorm.

Ronald, the only Filipino at the Elizabeth Detention Center, shares his dorm with Russian, Slovakian, Polish and African men. They do everything together—eat, sleep and watch T.V., he says.

“The key to this place is patience.

When people try to start anything with me, I try and keep my head down. I smile and say ‘bye bye’ because if you lose your temper or even touch someone, it’s ‘The Shoe’ for you,” Ronald explains.

The Shoe, inmate slang, means solitary confinement. “So I try to keep to myself; I’m usually reading. They call me ‘The Professor.’”

“Oh shoot,” Dulfo interrupts. “I meant to bring you a James Patterson book. I completely forgot.”

“Whenever I finish a book, I just start it again from the beginning,” Ronald laughs.

“I’ll bring it next time,” Dulfo promises.

“It’s hard in here,” Ronald says.

“Everyone is stressed and depressed. I often see guys just sitting and staring and counting the bars.”

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An inmate sitting directly behind Ronald talks animatedly to a woman visitor while a blue-eyed, curly-haired child runs around the table. Every time the energetic child passes, he taps Ronald on the back and each time Ronald pauses to coo: “Why, hello there.”

Nearly a third of the tables have small children. Two little girls with big white bows in their hair ran to greet one inmate when he entered the room.

Another inmate danced over to his infant son and spun him around in the air before sitting down.

Loud banging immediately silences the room. All heads turn to look at the metal door, where a large male security guard pounds on the door from the other side, trying to get a female guard’s attention. The female security guard in the cafeteria looks at the door, then at the visitors and starts laughing.

“Don’t worry everyone, it’s not the police or anything,” she jokes. “Look at your faces. It’s not the cops.”

No one else laughs.

||Something wrong

As she pulls out of the Elizabeth Detention Center parking lot, Dulfo calls her husband to let him know she’ll be back in Queens in an hour and a half.

With both hands on the wheel, Dulfo’s eyes flit back and forth from the road to her phone’s map. She talks about her childhood, her exposure to people in the slums and her anger at the economic migration model.

“When I spoke to farmers in the Philippines, they described a system where they had to buy everything from their landlord and then they had to give most of their harvest to the landlord,” Dulfo recalls.

Since moving here, Dulfo has worked with many immigrant communities.

“This isn’t people being lazy. There’s something wrong with us and the system.”

Mariel Padilla is an investigative fellow at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she recently graduated with a concentration in data. Prior to that, she covered breaking news for The Cincinnati Enquirer and contributed to the 2018 Pulitzer-prize winning project, “Seven Days of Heroin.”

The publishers of The FilAm proudly welcome philanthropist and advocate Loida Nicolas Lewis to our newspaper. She is our first columnist and begins this month her first piece.

She chose to devote her space to “Filipinos who are excelling outside of the Philippines.”

Follow Lewis as she reaches out to, speaks with inspiring and fascinating FilAms – such as Fordham University Dean Fr. Tito Cruz -- and shares their stories with us.

Fordham’s dean on preparing future leaders to serve in faith Faustino Manaligod Cruz, SM., broke new ground last year at Fordham University, the Jesuit University of New York, by accepting the role of Dean and Professor of Practical Theology of the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education (GRE).

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priest of the Society of Mary, Marists, he has served multilingual and multicultural institutions in the United States for more than 30 years as a priest, teaching scholar, and administrator. He has provided strategic, fiduciary, and transformative leadership for various educational, faith-based, and community sponsored initiatives.

In an interview with Fordham News, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham remarked, “In Father Cruz we found both a scholar and a priest with a deep commitment to pastoral care. He brings to the dean’s position an incisive mind and a steadying presence.

Therefore, I expect the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education to flourish and grow under his leadership.”

Tito, as he prefers to be called, earned an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in theology and education from Boston College, and master’s degrees from the Graduate Theological Union and the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He also completed post-graduate studies at Boston University School of Theology

Priest and scholar Father Tito Cruz. Photo: Fordham University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on the role of faith communities in addressing the pastoral needs of immigrants and underrepresented communities.

He is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines Asian Institute of Tourism.

Before moving to New York City, Father Tito served as associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of practical theology at Seattle University, another Jesuit university.

Previously, he was executive vice president and academic dean of the Franciscan School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, functioning as its chief academic and chief operations officer.

When asked why he has chosen to become an academic administrator, Father Tito said: “Children don’t usually say that when they grow up, they’d like to be a dean someday. This role is THE FILAM |

not one for which I had aspired. When I first became dean in 2005, my faculty colleagues had challenged me to claim more fully the gifts that apparently I had already shared, such as the ability to listen, inspire, build community, discern, imagine, organize, decide, and allow others to lead. There is not much difference between being pastor of a Catholic inner-city parish—a role I assumed for six years prior to pursuing doctoral studies—and being dean of at a Jesuit university. I have been most effective as a leader whenever I have felt a genuine call to serve in faith. And as an immigrant, saying “no” is not an option, when I have been invited to participate in making decisions that critically affect the lives of migrant communities and others to whom I’m accountable, such as students, employees, and faculty of color.”

Under his leadership, GRE has promoted more intentionally a global 4

vision of graduate education that prepares women and men from more than 30 countries as professionals in the fields of religious education, spiritual direction, pastoral counseling and spiritual care, and faith-based leadership. It has recently signed memoranda of understanding with the Catholic University of Croatia, De La Salle University Manila, and the Formation Institute of Religious Education at the Ateneo de Manila University. It has also explored opportunities for partnership with the Office of Catholic Education of the Diocese of Hong Kong and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Hybrid and online digital education, of which GRE has been a leader for more than a decade, has facilitated these global partnerships, seamless classroom experiences, and academic exchanges. Furthermore, by offering up to 50 percent tuition waivers to faith-based leaders, teachers, clergy, religious, and lay pastoral ministers, GRE continues to support a very diverse student population from many religious and spiritual traditions.

Since new initiatives require funding, GRE has implemented creative fundraising strategies. From a five-year average of $6,000, it has already raised nearly $250,000 this past fiscal year in endowment and annual gift funds, in strong partnership with the university’s office of development and alumni relations.

Keep an eye on Father Tito. He will be climbing higher mountains, in a manner of speaking. For more information about Fordham University Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, go to https:// www.fordham.edu/gre.

Rommy and Beth: A love story like no other and it bloomed in NYC

By Cristina DC Pastor

How often does it happen that while writing his memoir, an author takes a coincidental detour and writes someone else’s life story?

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t happened to broadcast journalist David Hyatt. He was nine chapters into his memoir as a foreign correspondent in Southeast Asia for Voice of America when his book took a different turn. He was to write a chapter on the Philippines with a focus on the legendary diplomat Carlos P. Romulo – Hyatt was one of the last journalists to interview CPR before he died in 1985 — when he decided to do some Internet search and discovered the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation website. Out of curiosity, he inquired about his widow Beth Day Romulo.

To his surprise, CPR’s granddaughter Liana replied and put Hyatt in touch with Day Romulo.

“I discovered that Beth Day Romulo was still alive,” recalled Hyatt in a 2015 Kapihan forum organized by members of the Fil-Am Press Club of New York. “I said I’d like to interview her.”

Emails were exchanged. Day Romulo initially turned down Hyatt’s request for an interview.

However, she did mention starting a memoir but that she may not have the stamina for the tedious process of writing and editing.

Tenacity and persuasiveness are qualities inherent in journalists of Hyatt’s caliber. He encouraged her to continue her writing and offered to assist “in whatever way.”

“I reached out, encouraged her without any intention at all of getting involved,” he said. “I’m here for you in any way you want me to help. We went back and forth.”

In 2013, the two began a long-distance collaboration on the book “The Writer, the Lover and the Diplomat: Life with Carlos P. Romulo.” Hyatt made a trip to the Philippines to interview Day Romulo. For about a week, he said, “I immersed myself in her life.”

In turn, Day Romulo entrusted all her unpublished memorabilia to Hyatt to include in the “tell-all” book.

One of his biggest challenges as co-author was to “discover” her voice. What he found was a confident, resilient woman, one who wanted to tell her story “without hurting anyone.”

“She is not out to destroy,” said Hyatt when asked by reporters how the Romulos truly felt about the Marcoses or the Aquinos. “This book is not of vengeance or revenge.”

Carlos P. Romulo and Beth Day Romulo.

Photo courtesy of David Hyatt’s blog

David Hyatt and wife Magida Hyatt (seated, far left) with members of the Fil-Am Press Club of New York.

Photo by Monette Rivera The book, stressed Hyatt, is a good love story. “I love a good story; a good story never gets old.”

It is a New York love story that began in 1958 when writer Beth Day was given an assignment to interview Carlos Pena Romulo for The Reader’s Digest. CPR, at the time, was the Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. He was previously president of the UN’s National Security Council, the first Asian to hold the position. He was an oddity of sorts too, a man of 5’4” but one who stood tall and equal with the world’s greatest leaders.

When they first met in 1958, both were separately married: CPR to Laguna beauty Virginia Llamas and Day Romulo to one Donald Day. They met again in 1972. By this time, both were widowed. They fell in love under the most intense political circumstances. The U.S. and the Philippines were negotiating the terms of the military bases in Clark and Subic. Marriage between the Philippine THE FILAM |

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Secretary of Foreign Affairs and an American woman would be diplomatically inappropriate and socially unacceptable. The two secretly wed in New York and were discreet for many years until it became opportune to make it known. Filipinos embraced Day Romulo as CPR’s wife and welcomed her warmly.

“It was a metaphorical union of the United States and the Philippines,” said Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. during the book’s launch on October 20.

De Leon called attention to the uncanny analogy in the relationship between the two countries and the couple. “The negotiations over the bases were protracted just like the relationship between CPR and Beth Day Romulo. Unlike the U.S. bases, she came to stay in the Philippines even after he died,” he said.

“He was a remarkable man, she a remarkable woman,” said Hyatt, “and they met at a remarkable time in history.”

5 members of Jersey family killed in crash coming from July 4th vacation

By Cristina DC Pastor

The Filipino American community woke up to a one-two punch of shock and grief with reports that a New Jersey family of five figured in a car crash after coming from a Fourth of July vacation in Delaware.

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illed instantly were postal worker and Navy veteran Audie Trinidad, 61, of Teaneck, New Jersey, and his four daughters Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison.

The 53-year-old mother, Mary Rose, who works as a nurse at Beth Israel Hospital, sustained serious injuries and is being treated in a hospital in Delaware.

News reports say the family was heading home at 3:47 p.m. on July 6 when Trinidad’s minivan was hit by a Ford pick-up truck moving in the wrong direction. The collision happened on Route 1 in Townsend, Delaware.

“The pickup truck crossed over the center median ‘for unknown reasons’ when it headed south in the northbound lanes,” police said in a press conference. All members of the family were wearing seatbelts.

The grief-stricken FilAm community went on social media to express sorrow and sadness, some of them friends of the Trinidad family.

“My condolences and deepest sympathy to the Trinidad family the tragic death of Audie Trinidad and his four beautiful daughters,” writes family friend Erno Hormillosa. “I met (them) many times through my sister. My sister is the godmother of their oldest daughter.”

Hormillosa said his sister went to see Mary Rose who is recuperating in the Delaware hospital.

“With great sadness…I am praying for Mary Trinidad’s speedy recovery and the rest of the family in this very very tough time.”

The Philippine Consulate in New York issued a statement expressing its “deepest condolences to the bereaved Trinidad family…(adding) it joins the community in mourning the tragic loss of exemplary members of the community.”

Consul Arman Talbo said the Consulate is in contact with the relatives.

Audie and Mary Rose Trinidad with their four daughters Kaitlyn, Danna, and 13-year-old twins Melissa and Allison. Photo: GoFundMe page “Our staff is currently at the hospital to closely monitor the situation of the mother and to offer assistance. Isama po natin sila sa ating panalangin,” he writes on Facebook.

Bergenfield Councilman Arvin Amatorio said the “tragic event has impacted so many people.”

“In tonight’s vigil, I have witnessed the outpouring of generosity and support for the Trinidad family from their friends and various communities. Our sincere condolences,” he said.

Eleanor de Leon, the wife of the former Consul General Mario de Leon Jr., writes how she gets “teary-eyed every time I hear the news… heartbreaking.”

A GoFundMe page was set up by Linda Douglas, a friend of the family. More than $134,000 was raised in one day, from a fundraising goal of $250,000. The donations came from 3,554 people.

A relative said Audie was named after actor Audie Murphy, a movie actor who had a distinguished military career. Audie and Mary Rose met in New York. Both were born in the Philippines.

The incident remains under investigation by the Delaware State Police. — Cristina DC Pastor THE FILAM |

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Lone survivor Mary Rose Ballocanag Trinidad is a nurse at Beth Israel Medical Center. Facebook photo

Jersey City and General Santos

to promote commerce, culture as sister cities

By Cristina DC Pastor

What do Jersey City in the U.S. and General Santos City in the Philippines have in common? Aside from both being highly urbanized cities, not much.

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n our search for some kind of a connection, we find out that J.C. is the birthplace of basketball great Shaquille O’Neal, and GenSan is the hometown of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Both cities are bordered by historic rivers – the cold, placid Hudson for J.C. and the dazzling Pangi River in GenSan. GenSan is known for its white sand beaches and J.C. for its brownstone houses. The last one is a stretch but that’s only to show that one does not need similarities to come together as “twin cities.” Synergy can happen in various ways.

On August 14, Jersey City in New Jersey and General Santos City in South Cotabato province will sign a sisterhood agreement where both will pledge to “deepen their continuing relations” in the field of education, culture, heritage and the arts, tourism, agriculture, information technology and economy. Both are committed to “promote national peace and security.”

The Memorandum of Agreement will be signed by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera in a ceremony to be held at the City Hall of Jersey City.

With the signing of the agreement, GenSan becomes the 13th sister city to Jersey City, along with Jerusalem in Israel and Kolkata in India, the second Philippine city after Ozamiz.

“Gensan is the Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” stated Gensan native Darlene Dilangalen Borromeo in an interview with The FilAm. She is one of the advisers behind the program.

“Gensan has a booming tuna industry which has tremendous export potential. We have a wharf and we’re near the water.”

Darlene has wonderful memories growing up in a city she remembers as “quiet, serene and clean.”

Jersey City skyscrapers

Darlene Dilangalen Borromeo meets with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop (right) and Council President Rolando Lavarro.

Cross visits by local officials and cultural exhibits are envisioned.

“I grew up in Lagao barrio, which was a residential area, a place where you raise your children,” said Darlene, a psychiatric nurse at Clara Maas Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey. She was born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. “We always played outside as children. I had a wonderful childhood there.” She studied in Gensan public schools until she reached high school, and came to Manila for her college education.

Fashion and tourism are other areas of cooperation, she said. With the trunk show Arise Mindanao, creations by Mindanao designers will be unveiled before the public.

“We want to raise awareness about what Gensan culture is about and what it has to offer in terms of fashion and other trends. Crafts created by indigenous tribes will be on display,” she said. “That was the intent.”

THE FILAM |

A fish port in General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines.

Darlene laid the groundwork and met with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Council President Rolando Lavarro, and officials of the Jersey City Economic Development Division led

by Jose Arango and Jaime Santana Paez. The two cities are expected to host cross visits by their local officials, teachers organizations, athletes, com7

puter technology professionals, among other sectors. There will be cultural exhibitions in both regions.

“We are hoping that through the sister city program, we can help build the communities of indigenous tribes so the weavers can continue their traditions. If there is no market, how are they going to survive,” she said.

When younger sisters turn out better than you: The story of ‘Us’

By Tricia J. Capistrano

“You have to set a good example,” my mom used to tell me. “Whatever you do, your sisters will follow.”

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am the oldest of four girls. We are all grown up now. I am 44. Carla, the youngest, is 34. I don’t know if my sisters cared about what I did when we were younger or if they looked up to me. But I definitely felt the pressure.

Last March, during International Women’s Day, Filipina American rappers from the West Coast, Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Klassy, and spoken word artist Faith Santilla, released the music video of the song “Us.” The song was released with Ruby Ibarra’s autobiographical album, Circa ‘91 in October 2017.

I listened to Francis Magalona, who was one of Ruby Ibarra’s early influences, in the early 90s when I lived in Manila. He was the only rapper I truly liked. In the early 2000s, I tried to listen to rap again after my European American husband and I got married. We met in grad school in New York. He likes Public Enemy; he finds rap soothing. I know, go figure. I found it crass and full of gratuitous profanity.

When I watched the video of “Us,” however, I couldn’t help but watch it again and again. I sent it to friends. Writers of color often talk about how representation in media is important. I know it but the experience of seeing a hundred fellow Filipino American women in our many shades of brown, hearing the invigorating beat and seeing them dance in the Philippines’ many colorful regional clothing was an emotional experience. It was like witnessing my younger sisters win the Grammys.

||Our younger sisters

Ruby Ibarra, the rapper and the visionary director of the “Us” was born in Tacloban in 1988. Her family moved to California when she was 4. She works as a scientist during the week. She studied biochemistry

Rapper Ruby Ibarra and FilAm women in many shades of brown ful singing voice but prefers rap. Listen to her rap in Tagalog on YouTube. Klassy is barely 5 feet tall but in her YouTube clips and in the “Us” video, she delivers her message with a burning stare, that you cannot help but pay attention.

November 1991, papa came here The video also introduces to us with a wife Two daughters, no money, but Faith Santilla, who was born in the late ‘70s. Faith is an award-winning they wanted them a better life poet, writer, and community orgaPiso to their name, so they nizer. Her work has been cited in piecing up the pain books, such as “Legitimizing Empire: Ain’t no peace in a position as an Filipino American and US Puerto immigrant that’s prayin’ For a piece of that Americana pie Rican Cultural Critique,” published by University of Illinois Press in 2015 and or for the C.R.E.A.M - From Ruby Ibarra’s “7000 Miles,” “Transnational Crossroads: Remapping Asia and the Pacific,” published Circa ‘91 by the University of Nebraska Press in 2012. She is a member of AF3IRM, Rocky Rivera, whose real name is Krishtine De Leon, studied journalism formerly the Gabriela Network. at San Francisco State University. She was born in the Philippines in the ||One down, one fall early ‘80s and was an accomplished In the video, you hear the four women music journalist before she became a call, ‘Isang bagsak!’ Although I grew up rapper. Her work has appeared in The in the Philippines, I did not know the Source and Rolling Stone Magazine. history of our unity clap. Our sisters’ Her nom de guerre is from Jessica video led to me learn its history. FiliHagedorn’s 1997 novel, “Gangster of pino and Latino activists ended their Love”, a novel about a Filipino AmeriUnited Farm Workers meetings in the can poet turned music artist.

1960s with ‘Isang bagsak!’ In the 1970s, Incidentally, Nom De Guerre is the anti-Martial Law activists also used it as title of one of Rocky Rivera’s albums a rallying call. In Tagalog, it translates which contains one of my favorite to “one fall.” For our brothers and sisters songs of hers, “Brown Babies.” When who use it, it is a message of unity— we not performing, Rocky Rivera is also a rise and fall together. mother of two and a youth educator to teens in Oakland, California. ||Whose calling?

Klassy or Graciela Moreno is the I was born in 1974. I was not yet youngest of the performers. She was born born when President Marcos declared in 1996 and moved to California with her Martial Law in 1972 and only 11 years family when she was 2. She has a beautiold when the Marcos family left in 1986,

and molecular biology at University of California Davis and then raps in English, Tagalog, and Waray during the weekends.

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but I did get the message implicitly that when you talked about politics you had to watch what you say. Because we were the first to grow up with democracy in Marcos’s 21-year rule, I felt that my generation was expected to lead the Philippines out of cronyism and poverty. I left when I was 22 to go to graduate school in New York City and decided to stay. I know many other Filipinos who left the country in the ‘90s to seek greener pastures. And I know many others as well who have chosen to stay and serve and do the best that they can. Watching Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Klassy, and Faith Santilla, who have a following in the United States and in the Philippines, who did not experience what it was like to live under martial law and did not even spend their growing up years in the Philippines, is like seeing your younger sister win a Grammy award when it was supposed to be you. Someone who grew up in the Philippines, from my generation, I thought would be the one calling us brown women and men to rise and be part of a movement for change.

Isn’t it ironic that the daughters of the families who could not see a future in the Philippines are the ones who are reminding us of our roots and are calling us to come together? It seems that we who grew up in the Philippines have taken our rich activity history for granted.

Since the video of “Us” was released I have been following the four on social media. I love that they practice what they preach. They are all politically active in their communities in California. (I had no idea that the sunshine state had such an energetic Filipino American music scene.) I have also been listening to their music and poetry. If you don’t live in California, you can find them in YouTube, iTunes, Bandcamp, Spotify. There is a lot of swearing and uncomfortable truths but you will also find our beautiful stories.

As the U.S. mainstream media, the main source of the world’s stories, is opening up to narratives of people of color, our younger sisters, are part of the movement that is leading the way.

This time it is our turn to follow.

Geo Rebucas: The male Mariah sings Whitney Houston

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By Cristina DC Pastor

f you ask Geo Rebucas, he will say everyone in his family is musically gifted. From his four older siblings to his parents, George and Concepcion, who used to perform in Malaysia as an acoustic duo.

“In my family, I’m the one with the not-so-nice voice,” he said and not in a self-deprecating way. “But I’m the only one who pursued singing.”

He’s been singing since he was child.

The family dining table was his stage, his parents his stage managers. Even then, it was undeniable there was a huge talent waiting to come out of this young boy of 4.

Geo got his break in 2011 when he became a finalist in Pilipinas Got Talent with his rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Through the Rain.” The belting, the whispering, the ability to switch from high to low range were unmistakably Mariah. He came to be known as the "Male Mariah Carey of the Philippines" for his unfaltering falsetto. It’s all a matter of imitating the sound, is how he explains the accuracy of his style.

The FilAm community of New York first heard Geo when he and Fil-Canadian singer Darren Espanto headlined TOFA – or The Outstanding Filipino Americans New York in 2014. The Carnegie Hall audience was smitten.

There was a rush to book him for events after that breakthrough debut. He obliged, sang solo or partnered with other musical talent, and that was the beginning of Geo’s steady rise as a local sensation. He has been singing Mariah for years -- “Love Takes Time,” “Hero,” and “Through the Rain” are the most requested by his fans -- he feels it’s time to step out of the singer’s shadow and try something different.

On September 15, Geo will interpret the hits of the late Whitney Houston in a solo concert to be held at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Patti Lupone, Tony Danza, and Jane Lynch are just some of the Broadway stars who have performed in this cabaret restaurant. Geo’s all-Whitney repertoire is apt for the venue’s showtime vibe. His version of “Run to You”

His NYC debut through the 2014 The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York awards ceremony held at Carnegie Hall.

Geo outside the New Hope Baptist outweighed the downs. He is fortunate -- from the 1992 movie The Bodyguard Church in Newark, New Jersey where -- was a well applauded number when he to have people in his life who have given the late Whitney Houston got her him nothing but wholehearted support. sang it during the Ms. Gorg transgender start as a Gospel singer.

“My career has just been growing,” beauty pageant in April. He echoed the Photo by Elton Lugay he said. trademark Houston vocals with their full power and excellent control.

One weekend in July, he was overwhelmed with nostalgia he decided to visit Houston’s church in Newark, as well as her graveyard in Westfield, also in New Jersey.

“I wanted to get her blessing (for my concert),” said Geo, 27, who works as a medical assistant in a Manhattan PM dermatology clinic. The sight of the tearshaped tombstone made him emotional as he reflected on his favorite Houston song “The Greatest Love of All.” “It was the first Whitney song I ever sang,” he told The FilAm in an interview. “It is also my favorite.”

At the New Hope Baptist Church, he got to meet some church elders and caught a glimpse of Houston’s mother, Cissy, as she arrived for the late-morning service. Whitney was a Gospel singer in this church where her mother, a legend in the Newark community, also sang. As a matter of fact, Sussex Avenue has been renamed Dr. Emily Houston Plaza in her honor. Like the Houstons, Geo is a Baptist and was an active member of the church when he lived in California with his family.

Cover charge starts at $50, plus a $25 food/beverage minimum.

He plans to donate to the church part of the proceeds from his tribute concert.

“I feel blessed.”

Likening his career to a “rollercoaster,” he said the ups have far

Geo Rebucas Sat, Sept 15 at 7:00

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COVER STORY

Corporate nurse Cora Reyes:

A community girl at heart

By Cristina DC Pastor

For corporate nurse Corazon Reyes, 73, what ails traders, bankers and finance professionals can be a lot of things. Stress can be a health risk just like headaches and colds and the occasional accident on the job.

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ora is a staff nurse at JP Morgan Chase & Co., a position she has held for more than 35 years. She was previously the bank’s Chief Nurse for about a decade until multiple mergers downsized her title but not the responsibilities. As one of the five staff nurses at the corporate headquarters on Park Avenue, she evaluates employees’ medical condition when they come in the Health and Wellness Center, making sure they are well enough to work managing clients’ assets.

“Blood pressure, level of blood sugar, and cholesterol profile are checked for some of our 5K employees in the midtown campus,” she said in an interview with The FilAm. “We want to help them achieve a healthy lifestyle.”

Cora is the only Filipino nurse in the Midtown office, but there are other Filipino nurses in other JPMorgan offices at Wall Street, in Brooklyn, Jersey City, Chicago, and Texas. “They like Filipino nurses, hardworking and hindi ma-reklamo,” she put it bluntly and with a silent laugh.

A cardiac condition early in her career, sidelined Cora while working two jobs. She quit working at Jewish Memorial Hospital and stayed at St. Elizabeth of St. Clare’s Hospital for 11 years. But both hospitals closed down

Cora receives the proclamation certificate from Gov. Cuomo’s Manhattan Regional Representative Aries dela Cruz. Cultural Officer Olive Magpile of the Philippine Consulate is at right. The FilAm Photo

||Farmer’s daughter

‘My father told me since I was 3 I was going to be a nurse. I never regretted being a nurse.’

The FilAm Photo in 1981, putting many Filipino nurses out of work.

In 1982, she was hired by Chase, now known as JPMorgan Chase & Co. It was a difficult start working the THE FILAM |

evening shift and attending to four young children at home. It was not until five years later that she worked regular hours; it has been 36 auspicious years.

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In life and in love, Cora Cajucom Reyes had an early start.

“I am the sixth child from the eldest. When my older siblings went to school I always ran after them to tag along that my mother just decided to enroll me,” she said.

She started schooling at age 3 and was a Graduate Nurse at age 19.

Work at Manila’s Singian Clinic was waiting for her after graduation.

Her father, Cesar Aquino Cajucom, farmed onions. His family owned tracks of land in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, and for a time they were known

as the biggest onion growers in the Philippines. Her mother, Mercedes Buenaventura Martinez, was a stayat-home mom who made sure that all her 10 children had the right care and received much-needed attention.

She met Francisco ‘Kits’ Reyes, who hails from Malolos, Bulacan, when her older brother had an accident and was rushed to the National Orthopedic Hospital.

Kits was the surgical physician. He thought Cora was lovely but a bit sassy.

“Mukhang suplada daw ako.

Parang na-challenge sa akin so he asked one of the nurses to introduce him to me,” she recalled in amusement at the initial tension between them.

Obviously smitten, he followed her to the U.S. when she found work at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Turned out, he too had a job waiting for him in the U.S. They married in 1972 and began a life together in New York City.

“We’ve always lived in New York, more than 45 years,” she said. Kits, now retired, and Cora live at the Upper West Side within walking distance of the Cloisters, the majestic museum specializing in the Medieval Arts.

They have four children: Carlo Virgilio, Michael Dane Pier Claudine, and Robin Francis; and three grandchildren Vivien Giselle, Vince Miguel, and Damien Arryn.

||Community leader

Connection to the Filipino community sustained Cora and gave her something to get busy with after work. She joined many organizations and led some of them. She became active with fundraising, organizing, and engaging in civic work, joined and led medical missions. She has been a past president of the Auxiliary to the Philippine Medical Association in America, the Auxiliary to the Association of Philippine Physicians in America, and Friends Indeed USA. Her breakout year was 1999 when she was named Overall Chair at PIDC or the Philippine Independence Day Committee and walked Madison Avenue resplendent in her Filipiniana terno designed by her couturier brother Tony Cajucom.

“I love being in the community.

I love the parties, the people, my

friends,” Cora was gushing. “Enjoy talaga ako.”

At one time, she was involved with more than a dozen organizations, volunteering in various capacities.

Nowadays, she has scaled down to a few, among them Friends Indeed, and medical auxiliaries she used to head, her school alumni organization, Bulacan Medical Missions, which she continues to head, and the Philippine-American Friendship Committee or PAFCOM, where she was a Grand Marshal, and the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

“Hindi ako nakikihalo sa away,” said Cora, surveying the groups that have endured. “I always try to stay above it all.”

The turbulence at PIDCI she is watching from a distance. “Mahirap sagutin,” she replied when asked what she thought the contending parties should do to come to an agreement.

She mused, “Kung sa akin lang, sana tanggapin uli ng consulate na sila ang mag-oversee. Mas gusto ko under them because everybody will listen to them. Walang dayaan.”

With retirement just around the corner, Cora looks forward to spending more time with her grandson, Damien Arryn. Although she wants to remain connected to the community, she would also love to travel, to do volunteer work, and continue her medical missions.

“Kits has been waiting for me to retire. Ako naman I love my job. I want to stay as long as I can,” she said.

Cora with husband Dr. Francisco Reyes and their ever-growing family.

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A week after this article was published, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a proclamation certificate honoring Cora Reyes, and all New York State nurses, on Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2018.

“Gov. Cuomo appreciates the commitment of the men and women of New York State. I am here to commend Cora Reyes for her professionalism and long-term commitment to keeping New Yorkers who work out of JPMorgan Chase very healthy,” said Cuomo’s Manhattan Regional Representative Aries dela Cruz. The ceremony, held at JPMorgan Chase’s Health & Wellness Center on Park Avenue, was witnessed by Reyes’ supervisors and co-workers.

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333K Filipinos languishing in family petition wait list

By Cristina DC Pastor

The Philippines ranks behind Mexico for having the biggest number of family-based petitions, at 333,564 Filipinos waiting to join their families in the U.S. Comparatively, there are more than 1.25 million Mexicans in the immigration wait list.

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ccording to the latest figures from the National Visa Center’s November 2017 report to the Department of State, overall, there are over 4 million people on the wait list.

The countries with the most number of applicants include Mexico, the Philippines, India and Vietnam.

“Not only do Filipinos have the second highest number of family-sponsored waiting list registrants in the world, but they also suffer the longest wait times of any group: more than 23 years!” said the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) in a statement.

Professor Rose Villazor of Rutgers Law School noted several “interesting points” about Filipinos in the family-based petition wait list.

First, of the number of Filipinos waiting for visas, the third category — married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens — has the highest group of people waiting – 128,108. “This number represents about 36 percent of the total number of Filipinos waiting for visas,” she said in an email interview with The FilAm. Second, the next group of Filipinos on the waiting list are the siblings of U.S. citizens who fall under the fourth category of family-preference visa categories. “There are 125,288 brothers and sisters of Filipinos who are U.S. citizens who are waiting to immigrate. This represents about 35 percent of the total number of Filipinos waiting for visas.

“The remainder is composed of unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of legal permanent residents,” said Villazor.

The numbers, she stressed, suggest the extent to which Filipinos value their family.

From left, Professor of Law Rose Villazor, NAFFAA Board Member Marie Cunning, and NaFFAA National Chair Brendan Flores “Similar to Mexico, many U.S. citizens from the Philippines and legal permanent residents desire to have their family members come to the United States. In other words, the visas available for certain family members are thus ‘oversubscribed,’” she pointed out.

Another reason why the numbers from the Philippines (as well as Mexico) are so high is because immigration law imposes a per-country limit.

“Each country is capped at 7 percent.

That is, each country is limited to 7 percent of all visas allocated per year.

Since Filipinos submit high number

Family-sponsored Immigrant Waiting List by Country EI Salvator (71,707)

Haiti (104,085)

Pakistan (121,752) Bangladesh (175,007) Dominican Republic (175,109)

Mexico (1,257,801)

China - mainland born (202,503) Vietnam (249,821) India (282,207) Philippines (333,564)

All Others (974,301)

Source: National Visa Center’s Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants THE FILAM |

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of applications, the 7 percent is easily reached and that leads not only to the significant number of Filipinos who are on the waiting list but also how long they have to wait, an estimated 20 year-wait,” she said.

Villazor said she does not see any relief under the Trump administration.

“I see the opposite,” she said. The proposed RAISE Act in Congress seeks to eliminate the 3rd and 4th categories of family members for whom a U.S. citizen or LPR can submit a petition. It also seeks to remove parents of U.S. citizens and adult children of U.S. citizens from being petitioned. Filipinos who want U.S. citizens and LPR individuals to continue having the right to petition their family members should be very concerned under this administration.”

NaFFAA National Chairman Brendan Flores said that while the White House’s proposed pathway to citizenship for DREAMers appears to represent progress, “We (at NaFFAA) believe that the additional restrictions they propose on family-based immigration is an affront to the American spirit of compassion and freedom.”

“We believe that the focus of the current debate should be on the countless stories of reunified family members and how they have contributed to the freedom and opportunity of the American promise,” he said.

Marie Cunning, member of NaFFAA’s Board of Governors, added: “NaFFAA expresses our concern for any proposal that would separate Filipino families from their loved ones.

Family-based immigration has helped positively transform the lives of Filipino Americans across this great nation. We encourage the Administration and Congress to support immigration reform that protects and expedites family reunification, instead of eliminating this fair and compassionate process.”

Rod Pangesban’s months-long journey to a fiancé visa

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odrigo Pangesban and Alex Esteban met in Baguio in February of 2016, fell in love amid a sea of blooming flowers, and wed in New York the following year. If you think that was fast, wait till you hear how their application for a fiancé visa went by as if in a flash.

Alex, 55, who works as administrator and compliance officer for Metro Children’s Services in Fresh Meadows, remembered filing for the visa in June, four months after they met.

Applying for a fiancé visa involves two processes, he said in an interview with The FilAm. “Applying for a fiancé petition, and getting a medical clearance.”

Back in New York after the two met in Baguio during the Panagbenga flower festival, Alex began the process of getting Rod, 30, to the U.S. Rod meanwhile stayed behind anxiously waiting for his papers to get approved.

The fiancé visa was issued in February of 2017, paving the way for Rod to join Alex in New York. And this is where everything moved even more quickly.

Rod arrived on March 10, the pair got

married on March 17, a petition to adjust Rod’s status was filed on March 28.

Theirs was a beautiful wedding attended by the couple’s relatives and closest friends. Alex walked the aisle in a white barong, and Rod wore a matching white tux both of them with adoring eyes only for each other. Immigration requires that the couple marry one another within 90 days of fiancé(e)’s admission to the United States on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa.

Laughed Alex, “We were fast.”

And although the visa process went by smoothly, there were challenges along the way. To Alex, it was the fees to the INS and their lawyer, and the mountain of paperwork. To Rod, it was the long lines for a medical examination. There was only one hospital authorized by the U.S. Embassy in Manila to conduct physical exams for immigration applicants, and that was St. Luke’s Medical Extension Clinic in Manila. A small scar was detected on Rod’s lung – common among Asian men, he was told — and so St. Luke’s asked him to return for a series of sputum tests.

“I had to be in line by 7 a.m. for a threeday test,” said Rod. “If I arrived late I had to take the tests all over again.”

The couple had to submit to immigration some 500 pages of digital communication printouts – emails and private messages on Facebook.

“Too much paperwork,” said Alex.

“They wanted to prove that we know each other, that we are in communication. If you are not circumventing the law, there is no problem.”

For Rod and Alex who communicated morning and night every day, the printouts arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Manila in several boxes.

When Rod arrived in New York on March 10, he remembered there was a raging blizzard. “Everything was white with snow, and clean, and it was very very cold. It’s everything I imagined America to be.”

The road toward becoming a legalized American citizen has only just began for Rod. On February 16, 2018 he got his green card. He is currently learning how to drive in preparation for applying for a driver’s license. He plans to go back to school to get his MBA. – Cristina DC Pastor

Rod (right) and Alex Esteban tie the knot.

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NYC retail sector is ailing;

how businesses transform and adapt

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or 20 years, Fantasia Floral Design was an Upper East Side flower shop that catered to Manhattan’s high society. Until April of 2016. Owner Dennis Josue did not renew his lease because the landlord wanted to raise his rent by 3 percent. He was paying $5,200 a month for a 300-square foot space.

“I’m certainly not working for the landlord so I decided to give up retail,” he told The FilAm. Today, Dennis runs a much leaner operation through his website he now calls The Floral Den. His devoted clients at Fantasia – a regular at polished magazines Town & Country and Architectural Digest — have stayed with him.

Accountant Jaena Valles has a different case altogether. The Valles Vendiola LLP tax and consulting office, where she is one of the principals, has moved out of Queens not because of rising rent. She decided to buy her own office building in the Bronx “for bigger space and control.”

“No, I did not experience rising rent,” she told The FilAm. “On the contrary, (my landlord) had a problem finding renters.” She said the surge of online shopping has resulted in an exodus of brick and mortars and an oversupply of retail space.

Dennis and Jaena are two successful Filipino American business owners with different approaches to issues that threaten New York City’s retail sector.

Their experiences reflect the conditions described in a December 2017 study entitled “Planning for Retail Diversity: Supporting NYC’s Neighborhood Businesses.” The research, prepared by the New York City Council, acknowledged the challenges facing storefronts and concluded “all is not well with our city’s retail sector.” The research explains the three major challenges that are “squeezing out” local businesses: rising rent and competition with chain stores, unhealthy retail mix in low-income neighborhoods, and the growth of e-commerce.

Some of the recommendations discussed in the study:

By Cristina DC Pastor

After 20 years, designer Dennis Josue decided not to renew the lease on his Upper East Side flower shop.

CPA Jaena Valles bought an office building in the Bronx for her expanding tax & accounting business service.

THE FILAM |

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• Require storefront vacancy reporting; • Study the impact of e-commerce on the brick-and-mortar retail sector; • Create a new supply of commercial spaces for low-impact businesses like professional offices; • Examine potential zoning restrictions on chain stores and restaurants; • Expand the distribution of fresh foods to neighborhoods that have high rates of poverty; • Help local nonprofits develop affordable commercial spaces in underserved areas; • Help incubator & entrepreneurship programs find storefront space; • Expand support for public markets and increase use of pop-ups; • Reform regulation of street food vendors and increase the number of available permits.

The study notes how NYC is home to an “extraordinary variety of retail spaces…from the luxury boutiques of Madison Avenue to corner bodegas.”

“Storefronts play an immense role in our city’s economy and daily living experience,” it says.

According to the report, the retail and restaurant industries are a source of livelihood for more than 600,000 people, many of them immigrant New Yorkers. The sectors “grew explosively” from 2002-2012, with an average turnover over a five-year period of 30 percent to 40 percent. However, with digital commerce becoming fashionable, that growth has “stalled” since 2013.

NYC’s Department of Small Business Services has the mandate to assist the retail sector by attracting new businesses, providing incentives to encourage businesses to stay in the city, and to smoothen relationships between landlords and tenants.

“My landlord was greedy,” said Dennis. “He did not want to negotiate the price.”

While he is somewhat dismayed that millennials are not as passionate about flowers, he is pleased that his devoted clients have stayed in touch.

“I still maintain my accounts and still take orders. I do all my work in the house and I’m loving it,” he said.

Filipino illustrators confront changes,

slumping comic book sales

By Cristina DC Pastor

America’s comic book industry is going through a painful evolution, ditching print, migrating to web and film, forcing Filipino illustrators to either abandon the trade, become independent, or learn to adapt just to survive.

S

“Marvel and DC are the only ones known to pay on ales of comic books are shrinking, according to insiders, although they have been sustained time,” he said. “Ninety percent of the time you need to have supplemental income.” by a growing Internet audience and film Arcedo said some artists have come around to the franchises. The ComiChron blog that tracks comic book sales reports that “unit sales of the idea that to be an illustrator you must be prepared to go hungry. top 300 comics were down for 15 years,” the best year Illustrators in big publishing houses are “just workrecorded was back in 1997. ers,” he said. “Trabahador ka lang. Hindi ka mabigyan ng Troubles at Marvel Comics, as reported in The New chance to be creative. That’s why I left, and I decided to York Times,’ calls attention to a “massive sales slump” at one of the top comic publishing houses due to factors create my own.” He is currently developing toys as part of merchandise that will help promote his graphic novel such as “fan fatigue over storylines…the introduction “In The Name Of The Father.” of new series, and the expense of comic collecting.”

For many independent artists like Gil and Arcedo, Comic book illustrator Arnel Arcedo saw the handa website – supported by sales of collectible shirts, writing on the wall and made the decision to leave stickers or mugs — is a way to generate a fanbase, and his job at a DC Comics-affiliated company in Virginia hopefully catch the attention of a producer who will in 2003. He is currently developing his own graphic take a chance on their creations. novel called “In The Name Of The Father And Of The “I’m one of those guys who does comics because I Sons” where he is the publisher, the illustrator and the like doing it, but if Marvel or DC calls me, I will say author.

“Filipino illustrators are affected, especially those that yes,” said Gil. Marvel Comics and DC Comics are the premiere work for companies. I have a friend in L.A. who is out of comic book publishers. Marvel, founded in 1939, created a job,” he told The FilAm. He said sales of comic books characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, appear to be a Boomer thing. The younger readers are X-Men, and The Avengers. “The Avengers” the film was a turning on their computers to read the latest about their blockbuster. Marvel is owned by media giant Disney. crime-fighting, Nazi-blasting superheroes.

Founded in 1934, DC Comics, a subsidiary of Time Writer and artist Ramon Gil, who publishes the indie Warner, developed the superheroes Superman, Batcomic anthology Scifies, said the industry is “shrinking.” man, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash among Fierce competition, limited distribution channels, and other characters. paltry pay are contributing to the slowdown.

Many Filipino artists in the U.S. and the Philippines He noted how in their heyday in the 1960s into the have done illustrations for both media companies. early 1990s, comic books were readily available at For Marvel, there was Edgar Entereso Tadeo, Whilce popular outlets such as supermarkets, book stores Portacio, Steve Gan, Leinil Francis Yu, and Gerry and newsstands. That changed in the 1990s when the Alanguilan. For DC, Mar Amongo, Alfredo Alcala, industry introduced the ‘direct market’ concept of Tony DeZuniga , Ernie Chan, Fred Carillo, Nestor distribution. He said those “bad decisions in the 1990s Redondo, and Gerry Talaoc. There’s Alex Nino, who basically froze readership.”

Explained Gil, “People who usually buy them at convenience stores like 7 Eleven and newsstands can now only buy them at comic book shops. Why? Because book stores and newsstands can return unsold copies and comic book stores go direct market. When they buy merchandise, they own it.”

He said, “They need to figure out how to get comic books in front of people.”

“Competition is fierce,” Gil stressed. Wages, he added, are not as attractive. For example, he said, an illustrator is typically paid $100 per page. Unless one is a really prolific worker, a page usually gets done in From left: Ramon Gil, Arnel Arcedo, and Vince Lontoc. three to four days.

Artists are also generally not paid on time.

Lontoc photo by Kyo Suayan.

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‘The Avengers’ by Marvel Comics. The film adaptation was a blockbuster. worked for both publishers. They were recruited in the ‘70s to ‘80s, a period covering the Cold War when good-versus-evil was a popular theme.

||NOT A COLLECTOR

Vince Lontoc, an engineering technician for Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley, said he may be a comic book aficionado but he never buys a copy.

“I go to comic book stores or libraries to read,” he said. “If you start to buy and collect, it becomes a costly investment.” He also reads a lot online.

The future lies in digital via online streaming and content on-demand viewing, he said. Already, there are apps like ComiXology, a unit of Amazon, which offers unlimited reading for a monthly fee of $5.99.

“It’s like the iTunes for comic books,” said Lontoc, a former layout artist for a newspaper.

He believes Filipino artists are tech-capable and can adapt to the industry’s march toward digitalization. They can easily master the challenge of learning software and produce high-quality graphics.

“There are many possibilities for creating art online, and the web becomes their infinite canvas,” he said while praising the “consistently good work” Filipino artists do. “Just a question of when to have a hit creation.”

Manila has no capability to ward off China: PHL national security chief

By Rene Pastor

It was a candid focus group discussion between National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and members of the Filipino American community and the media. He indicated the Philippines is too weak to fend off China in their protracted feud over the West Philippine Sea and said Manila has no choice but to “constructively” engage with Beijing.

“We have no submarine, all our neighbors have submarines,” said Esperon. At the time of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff – where the Philippine Navy took into custody eight Chinese fishermen and held their fishing boats – he said Manila had only two frigates. China brought 160 frigates.

“Do you want to engage China militarily?” he asked rhetorically. “That is what others want.”

He continued: “Do we fight a war or take the diplomatic route?” He said the Philippines does not have the capability “to ward off China,” and would rather “engage China constructively.”

He said the government of Rodrigo Duterte is using diplomatic and other initiatives in dealing with China, one of the several countries with overlapping claims over the South China Sea. The others are Brunei, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

The South China Sea is a vital waterway for international trade with up to $5 trillion passing through its waters, Esperon said.

The Philippines has a consultative mechanism with China to raise issues over the disputed area, he added, but, “We are not noisy about what we are doing.” He said the Philippines needs to increase spending on its military to 2 percent of its GDP, from the current 1.1 percent, so it can defend its territory and sovereignty.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, about 80 percent of global trade and 70 percent by value is transported by sea.

Of that volume, some one third of global shipping goes through the South China Sea. Under the previous government of Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino 3rd, the Philippines filed and won its case at the Hague against China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling and refused to take part in the deliberations of the case. China is a signatory to the U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea, which does not recognize historic rights, the basis of

Esperon (left) at the focus group discussion with Deputy Consul General Kerwin Tate. The FilAm Photo THE FILAM |

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National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon: ‘We have no submarine.’ YouTube photo Beijing’s claims to places like Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys.

The Duterte administration changed tack and decided to cultivate China, with President Rodrigo Duterte calling the country a “true friend” in the hope of reaching an accommodation with Beijing.

Criticism of the Duterte government’s posture flared anew in 2018 when the Chinese coast guard in Scarborough Shoal seized the best catch of Filipino fishermen. Esperon downplayed that incident. He said the matter was brought up in consultations with China, which is investigating the incident.

He said the Philippines is upgrading its assets in the area by rehabilitating its airstrip on Pagasa island near Palawan and stepping up assistance for its fishermen. Using regional bodies and talks with China, the Philippines is looking to proclaim more Marine Protected Areas to conserve the fisheries in the region so all countries can benefit.

Esperon, who attended recent talks between Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, said the U.S. has made it clear it will not assist the Philippines in case of hostilities with China in the West Philippine Sea. Under the mutual defense treaty between Manila and Washington, the U.S. will only come to the aid of the Philippines if any part of its territory is attacked by another power.

But Esperon said the Kalayaan Island Group, which is a municipality of Palawan, is “not part of” the area covered by the treaty. The Chinese buildup of its military capabilities in the disputed area is “subject to diplomatic action,” he explained.

The only way to go forward on the issue is to bolster a Philippine military that does not have fighter jets or even a submarine, or at least the Coast Guard.

“It is not in our interest to control the South China Sea,” he said. “We must slowly create our capabilities.”

Taxwoman Margaux Advincula: Mission accomplished in NYC

By Wendell Gaa

After almost two years in New York, senior manager Margaux Advincula of EY/SGV & Co. is back in Manila glowing with a sense of professional fulfillment: She has re-established the Philippines Tax Desk in the Ernst & Young New York office in 2016.

In Manila with her mentor, Atty. Luis Jose P. Ferrer, who is Head of Tax at EY Philippines/SGV. The tax desk provides advisory services to multinational companies which have operations in the Philippines or are considering investing in the country.

The tax desk “serves as the point of contact of U.S. businesses in terms of any tax matters that ordinarily cannot be answered by the Philippine Consulate in real time,” explained Margaux. The idea is to assist U.S. companies with tax queries pertaining to cross-border transactions. The person in charge works closely with the Philippine Consulate, the business community and chambers of commerce to promote investments to the Philippines, with focus on tax incentives.

“I still lead it, but SGV will have someone who will be physically based in the EY office in New York,” she said.

The move to New York for this native Waray from Samar, happened in June 2016 when SGV sent her to re-establish the Philippines Tax Desk. She adjusted very well to her Midtown Manhattan neighborhood, took in the city and everything around it. A running enthusiast, she would jog around Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, professing her love for the city.

“The day after I landed when I ran around Central Park, I knew New York is home,” she said.

It was the Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York (FALA) which was the first organization to welcome her.

“I will not forget FALA’s Elaine Calderon, Connie Montoya and Rio Guerrero,” she said.

Another person who became a long-time friend was Ledy Almadin, who introduced her to the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce and others members of the community.

“The FilAm community was like a foster family who welcomed me. Whenever I miss the Philippines, I just visit the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue and I was home,” she recalled.

Margaux continued, “I never felt such a great love for the Philippines and its people until I started working in the U.S. and I saw how big the FilAm community is.

It gave me so much pride and inspiration.”

She described her desk at EY as something similar to that of a Philippines representative to the United Nations. “You get to work with people from all over the world with different cultural origins. I like EY/SGV’s culture of inclusiveness and diversity.”

Margaux is extremely proud of her humble beginnings.

She was born and raised in Calbayog City and moved to Tacloban for college. She obtained her BS degree in Accountancy at the University of the Philippines-Visayas. She studied law on weekends at the Arellano University School of Law, graduating with honors. She passed the CPA Board Exams and began her professional career at age 22. She was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2011 around the same time she joined SGV. “I never really had any role model when I was growing up,” she said.

Life in the province was simple. When she was a child, she wanted to be nurse or a flight attendant.

“I just wanted to give my parents a better life – to be able to provide for their needs until they live to be a hundred,” she said. “But today, with the things I have been blessed with, I have additional responsibilities not only to my family but to SGV, EY, the New York FilAm community, even to the country.”

She joined SGV inspired by the vision of its late founder, the legendary Washington SyCip. THE FILAM |

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Margaux in the middle of Times Square with Ernst & Young in lights in the background.

“As I got to know the SGV and the EY leadership closer, the people I work with and work for, in particular, I look up to them. They inspire me every day,” she said.

The Philippine market in the U.S. is small compared to other Asian countries, but she viewed it not so much as a challenge but an opportunity to make the country attractive to investors looking for tax breaks.

She observed how in the FilAm community, there was hardly any forum devoted to a discussion of the Philippine tax policy.

“This is where I came in,” she said. “Philippines tax is my bread and butter and no one could walk through Philippines tax in the U.S. other than SGV and EY’s Philippines Tax Desk. If some members of the FilAm community who worked for these U.S. companies had concerns on Philippine tax, they only needed to find me.”

Margaux will likely be back in New York in October for EY’s International Tax Conference.

Looking back on her time in New York, Margaux is reminded of Washington SyCip’s famous words about the Filipino talent being world-class.

“I agree. You give the Filipino workers the right opportunity, they will maximize it, even strive to be the best in that field,” she said.

Issue 6, August 2018

Taxwoman Margaux Advincula: Mission accomplished p19 Geo Rebucas: Male Mariah sings Whitney in tribute concert p9 333K Filipinos languishing in family petition wait list p12