Issuu

Issue 36, February 2021

2 FilAms Join the

Photo: Wh.gov

Biden government

Jurell Snyder

What was he doing at the Capitol?

President Joe Biden ‘Feels like going home’

Letter from the Editor

Eugene Goodman and the Podium Cleaner T

he stars of the January 20 presidential inauguration -- aside from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris -- are Eugene Goodman and the unnamed Podium Cleaner. Capital Police officer Goodman was promoted to acting deputy Senate Sergeant-at-Arms after he diverted an angry mob of Donald Trump supporters away from the Senate hall where lawmakers were in session on January 6. For his courageous act and presence of mind, he earned a stripe. During the January 20 inauguration, he was given the enviable role of escorting Vice President Harris to the ceremony where she was sworn in as the first woman of color to be elected to the second highest position in government. Wearing a caramel-colored coat, Goodman of Maryland was met with resounding applause from the inauguration audience. In viral videos of the riots, he was seen trying to fend off the rioters, singlehandedly and holding noth-

Eugene Goodman; the Podium Cleaner. The Podium Cleaner photo by Imgur. ing but a short stick. The mob came close – within meters – to reaching Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers. Goodman’s quick thinking prevented a possible violent confrontation.

||Podium Cleaner

The Podium Cleaner played another stellar role during the

inauguration, perhaps without him even realizing it. The anonymous man wiped the podium with a sanitizer after every speaker making sure it is safe to use. For this, he inspired memes and adoring nicknames on social media, such as Sanitizer-in Chief and Captain Lysol. He performed the simple task with no fuss.

Contributing Writers Tricia J. Capistrano Ludy AstraquilloOngkeko Joel David Mariel Padilla Wendell Gaa Maricar CP Lindy Rosales Hampton Danielle Vania Angelito Cabigao Bonus

Founding Editor Cristina DC Pastor Address P.O. Box 8071 New York, NY 10116

Contact Thefilamny@gmail.com

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

The levity is understandable given that it was just a few weeks removed from the disheartening and sickening sight of a mob that threatened America. Five people died in the rioting. It wasn’t meant to mock. The nation was looking for an inspiring act. The beauty of this country is that a job is a job, no matter how unremarkable it may seem to some. We salute the men and women who do work that is worth doing. It is within that guiding spirit that we view the ascension of Joseph R. Biden to the presidency. Biden, a gracious, grandfatherly leader, is the direct opposite of the brash and arrogant person he succeeded. The man who cleaned the podium is a symbol of the incoming administration: One who is unobtrusively doing his job and doing it so well that people would sit up and take notice. The bedrock of this new administration is that of hard work, honest work, and a deep respect for all Americans. For both gentlemen, thanks for a job well done.

Patricia Dinglasan: Looking for laughs in a plague year By Cristina DC Pastor

“I am Filipino. I am not a nurse. I just play one in my husband’s sex fantasies.” Trust comic Patricia Dinglasan to find humor amid a depressing pandemic and mold it into a hilarious punchline. For this budding Manhattan comedian, let’s just say the pandemic is a wellspring of jokes and other material for her comedy shows. Like the time she drawled to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it…” showing her lazing on the sofa bored and beat. If you’re a mom in 2020 you… Did Remote learning Learned to cut hair Wiped down groceries Cooked 3 meals a day Gained 10 pounds… Downloaded TikTok Have a crush on Governor Cuomo Blink your eyes! “Every comedian I know has their own mic, ring light, and green screen,” she said in an interview with The FilAm. The challenge is not so much looking alive and sparking energy on Zoom but making sure they connect with an entirely different audience. One that is remote and impersonal versus the familiar crowd that used to be intimate, compact, loud, and powered by beer and chicken wings. In a time of COVID-19 where “remote learning” is to children and “remote comedy” is to late-night stand-up comedians, making fun of a global crisis may not be a past-time the puritans of good conduct may appreciate. Patricia’s jokes may seem a little edgy but guaranteed to generate a chortle from a mature-minded listener. There is always a slice of domestic life in her humor, with her scientist husband and their two sons, aged 9 and 12, in starring roles. “COVID has challenged comedians to pivot into different mediums to showcase their work,” she said. Always there is that question: How can one be interesting to a Zoom audience?

“If I can see the audience, I try to talk directly to the ones who have their cameras on,” she said. Not everyone who watches on Zoom turns on their cameras. Others prefer the anonymity of a gray silhouette.

|| Third grade Patricia has been rib-tickling friends since third grade, but it was only in 2018 that she took comedy by the horns and began to write and deliver humor at public parks and nightclubs. “I took my first (comedy) class in 2014 and after the class ended, the comedy scene was intimidating to me so I only did one or two shows a year,” she shared. “It took me nearly four years to work up the courage to really pursue comedy so I consider 2018 the year I started.” It was her sister who sort of injected the idea into her head. “My sister Kelly asked me what I wanted to do if money was of no concern. I told her all I wanted to do was make people laugh and she encouraged me to take a stand-up comedy class.” She did, but sat it out for four years until she gathered enough courage to go out there and… “bomb.” “Bombing on stage is comedy,” she declared.

“believing in themselves” and Wong reflecting on being female and being a minority. “It is not easy to be a woman in comedy, but these really connected with me,” she said. She remembered her shock attending an online class with touring comedian Kevin Camia, a FilAm. “He specifically told the class that the women especially should continue, because there are not a lot of Filipino women doing stand-up,” she said. “And that is shocking to me because I think about how funny my aunts are...even when they’re not meaning to be funny.” There aren’t really any limits to comedy, not gender, not politics, not even religion, she said. “I will never try to hurt anyone or punch down. However, if there is someone or something that is really evil and harming people, then I will use everything in my arsenal to write a good joke about it.” “When a Trump supporter yelled, ‘Go back to your country,’ I said, ‘No, I’m in the only immigrant program approved ‘I will never try to hurt anyone’ just for by President Trump, it’s called being laughs. Photos by Arin Sang-urai married to a rich, old white guy.’

|| Amy Schumer & Ali Wong Born in Makati and raised in the Bay Area, she graduated from University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in Global Economics. She moved to NYC in 2000 where she met her American husband and worked at Estee Lauder until she became a mom of two boys. “I became a full-time mom but that got boring really fast.” “It’s so hard having kids in the pandemic. Before, I used to say when we go out to the park, ‘Be careful, kids.’ Now I just say, ‘Good luck.’” She likes “rewatching” old clips of Amy Schumer being interviewed by Oprah and Ali Wong being interviewed by Trevor Noah. She vividly remembered Schumer telling Oprah she wanted to see more women THE FILAM |

Patricia at the Zarna Garg Show in Central Park. 3

Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego: A Filipino American Story

t his inaugural address on December 10, 2020, Mayor Todd Gloria declared, “Today marks a new chapter in San Diego’s history. It is a place where the son of a hotel maid and a gardener, a Native American, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Dutch gay guy has just become your mayor.” It is indeed historic because Mayor Gloria, who won by a wide margin over his closest opponent (previous mayor has been termed out), is the city’s first mayor of color, first openly gay mayor, and the first Filipino American. San Diego has the second largest population in California, after Los Angeles and the eighth largest city in the USA. His paternal great-grandfather, Melacor Gloria, immigrated from Baliuag, Bulacan to Juneau, Alaska in the early 1900s when the Philippines became an American territory. Colonial Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. after being defeated in the Spanish American War of 1898. Melacor married a Native American from the tribe Tlingit Haida in Juneau known for their Totem Pole art. Their son, Louis, the mayor’s grandfather, moved to San Diego to join the military during World War II where he met and married his Puerto Rican grandmother, Margarita, whose father was of Dutch ancestry. His parents were working class. His mother, Linda, worked as a maid in a hotel and his father, Phil, worked as gardener around apartment buildings. They provided for their two sons, Todd’s elder brother, Tye, and Todd with a modest home they were able to buy from their savings. They taught them to be hardworking, honorable, and responsible. Mayor Gloria recalled the time they did not have a car growing up. Their father would borrow a car from a relative or a friend and at the end of the day, he and his brother’s responsibility was to wash the car, clean it well and fill up the gas tank. Their mother emphasized, "You should leave it better than you found it," which was actually the perfect recipe for public service. In 1987 when the economic crisis struck and his parents lost their jobs, both Todd and his brother were homeschooled during their middle school years. At 14 years of age, the young Todd started to volunteer in the campaign of a local official. In fact, he would register people to vote who were older than himself. That included his own parents. When he was in high school, he took a college course in Political Science being offered. His teacher remarked to him when he indicated his ambition for public office, “Gay guys are never going to be elected.” He was not discouraged, “I did not listen. I will prove him wrong.”

More than 30 years ago, young Todd was a finalist in the Mayor For A Day essay contest. In 2013, he became interim mayor, and in 2020 San Diego’s 37th mayor. ture is decayed and needs $6 billion to fix. The city’s workforce is “overworked, underpaid and underappreciated.” The pandemic has caused “single-day records for cases and deaths.” Homelessness is widespread mostly people with mental health or addiction problems. Middle-income housing is practically non-existent. The Police Department The son of a hotel maid and a gardener is sworn in as his hometown’s has to be re-trained on race relations, chief executive. and an independent police review board A year later, at 18 years of age, he came out as gay. is needed. The economy is battered due to the panBecause he was already a regular volunteer during demic and thousands of jobs need to be created. campaign periods, after graduating from the UniverMayor Todd is not daunted by these challenges. In sity of San Diego, he joined Congresswoman Susan fact, he has already set up solutions with his staff with Davis’ office as her district director. well-thought-out plans to meet these challenges. As An opportunity opened in the City Council in for the deficit, with President Joe Biden in the White 2008. He ran and was elected Councilmember for House, Mayor Todd is confident that the stimulus the City of San Diego’s Third Council District. When package of $1.9 trillion would be part of the solution to San Diego Mayor Bob Filner resigned in 2013, Todd this deficit. He knows how to fit the needs of the city became Interim Mayor for eight months. It gave with the budget. him a close look at how being a Mayor of San Diego The mayor recalls when his grandmother visited worked. him in his office when he served as Interim Mayor. In 2016, he was elected Assemblyman, the second As she entered his office on the 11th floor of the City FilAm after Assemblymember Rob Bonta, to be Building, she was wide-eyed and awed. He started elected in California. He served for four years. to expand his chest in pride waiting for his grandThen, last year, he ran for mayor of San Diego in the mother’s praise. His grandmother moved toward the Primary and received the top vote. In November, the window and exclaimed, “My! I never thought San people of San Diego chose him as their mayor. Diego would get to be this big.” The problems are formidable. He inherited a Mayor Todd smiled as he recalled that moment. budget deficit of over $150 million. The infrastruc“My family keeps me grounded.” THE FILAM |

‘Filipino nurses are highly regarded in the UK’ – community leader Gene Alcantara By Cristina DC Pastor

British citizen Gene Alcantara has lost three friends to COVID-19. A sister-in-law has tested positive and is isolating. With a new and quickspreading Coronavirus variant discovered in the UK, he voiced muted confidence that, “we will endure no matter what.”

lcantara, a community leader who has his own immigration consultancy practice, may as well be speaking for most of the estimated 350,000 Filipinos in the United Kingdom. The Filipinos who first arrived in the UK as sailors are very much a part of British society, he said when interviewed by The FilAm. “The earliest wave of Filipinos happened in late 1960s to early 1970s when the British government opened up the work permit system,” he said. “Since then, there have been several waves of migration – the service industries, hotel and restaurant workers, domestic workers in private homes, mail order brides, those fleeing from the wars in the Gulf, nurses and other professionals, and of course students, many of whom became careworkers.” He cited Philippine Embassy data stating how in the early 2000s, an average of five babies were registered daily in the embassy by Filipino parents in the UK. “That equated to 1,825 babies a year,” he said. “We can imagine how the Filipino diaspora community keeps on growing here.” The Filipinos are a community of industrious immigrants who are conscious about taking care of their health amid the pandemic. “We have all been taking care to distance and isolate ourselves, staying mostly at home,” he said. When friends and family are

Alcantara with his sister, the late Mayor Cllr Cynthia Alcantara Barker of Hertsmere Council at a Filipina Women’s Network event. Barker, the UK’s first Filipina mayor, passed away on September 14, 2020.

Prominent Filipino nurses in the UK: May Parsons (left) and Cherry Romano. Romano photo: Bupa THE FILAM |

diagnosed with COVID-19, their friends offer to bring food and other necessities. An estimated 19,000 Filipino nurses work in Britain’s National Health Service, and countless more in private care homes, he said. Many of them arrived in 2000 on work permits, bringing their spouses and children. “I guess they are no longer counted as Filipinos as they would have become British citizens after six years of working here,” he said. Two of the most prominent are known to Filipinos all over the world: Cherry Romano, who was awarded the British Empire Medal during the Queen’s Honours Awards at the end of 2020, and May Parsons, who administered the first vaccine ever against COVID-19. “The (nurses) have been around in the UK for decades and are a feature of any hospital or care home They were thrown into prominence and are now highly regarded particularly in view of the pandemic and the major role they have played as frontliners,” he said. “It has not been plain sailing,” Alcantara said recalling the utter confusion at the beginning of the pandemic. “There was much lack of understanding of the virus, and the lack of protective personal equipment (PPE) for nurses,” he said. “A lot of health workers died, including around 70 to 80 Filipinos. It also raised questions as to why black and minority ethnic people suffered unduly.” He is trying to understand if Filipino culture of not speaking up may have been a factor. “Filipinos do not always say No to superiors, or perhaps they were scared to ‘disobey’ if their visas need to be renewed.” Nurses continue to be in the UK government’s Shortage Occupation List which means, according to Alcantara, it is relatively easy for them to find work in view of the pandemic. “With the number of daily deaths breaching 1,000, and a record-high 62,000 cases recently announced, the fight continues, with Filipino healthcare workers remaining in the frontline, at least until the vaccines hopefully take effect,” he said.

Why ex-cop Jurell Snyder took part in the Capitol protest By Cristina DC Pastor

A U.S. Army veteran and former Oakland, CA police officer was among the mob that rallied on January 6 at Capitol Hill in support of Donald Trump. Filipino American Jurell Snyder said he was protesting alleged voter fraud, adding he just “stayed outside” and did not enter the building.

“T

he intention was for it to be peaceful,” said Snyder in an interview with KPIX-TV, an affiliate of CBS in San Francisco. “People were just frustrated and they were angry… People were unable to hold that anger in,” he told television journalist Joe Vazquez. He further said, “The cops at the gate…they moved aside, gestured with their arms almost inviting, almost, I hate to say, it’s almost like a set-up like they wanted us to be disruptive.” The FilAm tracked down Snyder on social media where he confirmed his Filipino ethnicity, saying his family is from Iloilo. He said the people who forced their way inside the Capitol and ransacked the rooms were Antifa activists and not Trump supporters. “Many of the people who stormed inside the Capitol were Antifa dressed as Trump supporters. We grabbed and tussled with many of them who had Anarchy tattoos on their chest and hands,” he told The FilAm. It was the Antifa, he claimed, that “infiltrated our protest and were the main agitators damaging property with hammers and crowbars.” News media would report on the arrest of several Proud Boys and

Snyder, whose family is from Iloilo: ‘There were many Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, and a lot of Chinese protesting.’ KPIX screenshot

The mob that stormed the Capitol building was seen taking selfies and stealing stuff like computers and name plaques like they were trophies. Boogaloo followers who are ardent supporters of Donald Trump. The FBI has said there was no evidence of Antifa in the violent riot. Snyder currently works for Crime Analytica, a company he co-founded in 2019. His LinkedIn account says the digital forensics technology firm “assists local law enforcement with criminal investigations by using data analytics to solve crime.” Asked by The FilAm if he feared repercussions about losing his job, he replied, “I own the company so, no.” Snyder is profiled on his LinkedIn account as an “experienced investigator, project manager and THE FILAM |

forensic intelligence analyst with a law enforcement background and secret clearance.” He joined the U.S. Army in 2003 and departed in 2010. He was an officer of the Oakland Police Department for more than eight years. He echoed Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel ‘Babe’ Romualdez who has said there were Filipinos who participated in the protest. “There were many Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, and a lot of Chinese protesting,” he said. He spoke about how voter fraud allegedly committed in Georgia “suspiciously favored” Democrat 6

presidential candidate Joe Biden. He said hundreds of thousands of fraudulent ballots – supposedly from flying voters, nonexistent addresses, PO Boxes and vacant address ballots, non-residents, dead people, and felons voting, etc. – were obtained following a forensic audit of servers used in the Georgia election. Asked why these so-called data were not presented in court that was specifically looking for evidence, he said his group had asked for more time to put the evidence together but were denied by the courts. “It’s why we marched!” he said, “because the Democrats and foreign money were trying to steal the election.” Georgia election officials said, after three recounts of the votes, there was no evidence of massive fraud. Nearly 60 courts, including two decisions at the Supreme Court, have reached the same conclusion. The federal Cybersecurity office said the elections were free and fair, and were not compromised.

‘ The threat to my health and life has led to anxiety’

s a Critical Care Nurse for 27 years, I had the opportunity to serve and render nursing care to patients with different kinds of illnesses. I was confronted with the most challenging and threatening part of my career when New York City became the epicenter of COVID-19 since March of 2020 and our unit was fully occupied with patients who tested positive for the Coronavirus. Every working night, I spend at least 15 minutes putting on my PPE, making sure that I am protected from head to toe. For the first time in my career, I have to wear an N95 face mask continuously for 13 hours, forfeiting my break and working with rigorous schedule while dealing with no less than three very sick patients with multiple drips at any given time. Being a witness to the death of about 90 percent of our patients is not only demoralizing but also devastating. The most painful feeling I experienced was when we lost a patient who is a nurse working in our sister facility. I felt so defeated and vulnerable. The knowledge of the death of fellow nurses and friends with whom I had personal and professional relationship, made me doubt if I can still survive with the kind of exposure I had to confined patients. “Doffing” or taking out my PPE at the end of the shift takes another 15 to 20 minutes, making sure that I do it right while disinfecting myself as much as possible. During the height of pandemic, I went beyond the call of my specific duties as we prepared our own drips because Pharmacy cannot cope with the demand, picked up supply of medications outside the unit as it is not safe for Pharmacist to enter our unit; cleaning patients’ rooms and bringing out trash outside the room for the safety of housekeeping personnel. I am being exposed more to the danger of being infected by COVID-19 in exchange for the health safety of other hospital personnel.

By Femarie Clarete-Bedona, RN

The author: Her two children also work as nurses in Manhattan.

Femarie (center) joins the People’s Climate March with fellow members from the New York State Nurses Association. The threat to my health and life was extremely draining emotionally and psychologically, physically exhaustive and stressful which led to anxiety. Despite my extreme fear which I was able to overcome, I remained focused on my job. Never did I entertain the idea of giving up my work in exchange for my own personal safety. On the positive side, the pandemic has allowed me and my fellow nurses in the ICU the closeness that we did not experience in normal times. Aside from my family, my fellow nurses were the source of my strength and courage as I face the threat of death and uncertainties every day. We have now a stronger team that is still ready to provide the best nursing care to patients whatever their conditions are. The bad situation brings out goodness in a lot of people. Food donations are abundant in the hospital. People are more tolerant and patient. Frontliners get free breakfast from McDonald’s for a period of time. Every 7 p.m., THE FILAM |

ambulances sound their sirens, cars blow their horns, people open their windows sounding their whistles and clanging metals together in honor of those working in the front line. Indeed, it is a heartwarming show of support from the community. Being exposed to COVID-19 is bad enough, but having two children who are nurses, like me, gives me the worst fear a mother can experience. The paralyzing fear renders me helpless. I also feel for my husband who is having sleepless nights and suffering from constant anxiety thinking of his wife and 2 children caught at the epicenter of the pandemic. I don’t have words to comfort him because I do not know how this will end. During these moments, prayer is my only comfort. The prayers of the members of my family, our friends and members of the pastoral staff in our church made me persevere and became the best version of myself in this worst situation. Faith and trust in God held us together during these 7

It takes 15 minutes to put on PPE and another 15 minutes to take it off at the end of the shift. months of uncertainty. I know that the Lord is always around to protect me and my family. Femarie Clarete-Bedona, RN works as an Intensive Care Unit nurse in Manhattan. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Central Philippine University in Iloilo City. In New York, she worked as a nurse at Bellevue Hospital Center, Coronary Care Unit since she arrived in 1991 and until her retirement in 2017. She has a Master of Science in Nursing from Hunter College of the City University of New York. She is on the board of the Philippine Nurses Association of New York from 2018 up to the present.

NaFFAA continues to update its list of newly elected, re-elected Filipino American officials in 2020. Email info@naffaa.org for information.

Tengco, Touton: 2 FilAms join Biden-Harris administration ||Jason Benjamin Alinea Tengco The Biden-Harris Administration has announced several political appointees to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Among them, Filipino American Jason Benjamin Alinea Tengco, White House Liaison for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The group will work alongside OPM civil servants in support of OPM’s mission and the Biden Administration’s commitment to build a federal workforce that reflects the diversity of America. “President Biden made a promise to the American people that he would assemble diverse and talented teams that look like America, and today he continues to fulfill that promise,” said Chris Canning, incoming Chief of Staff. “We are looking forward to joining the hardworking and committed civil servants at OPM to support and empower the federal workforce.” OPM works in several broad categories to lead and serve the Federal Government in enterprise human resources management by delivering policies and services to achieve a trusted effective civilian workforce, with over 80 percent of federal employees living and working outside of the Washington, DC area. OPM’s team of political appointees reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to diversity, with more than 85 percent of OPM First Week appointees identifying as people of color, women, or LGBTQ. Jason Tengco recently served as the Chief of Staff for the Biden-Harris campaign’s Coalitions Department and then was the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Lead on the transition team.

Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, National AAPI Outreach Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs. He has a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and a Master’s in Public Affairs from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

||Camille Calimlim Touton

Also in Washington D.C., California Rep. Grace F. Napolitano issued a statement announcing that her long-time water policy advisor,

Touton speaking before the MIT Water Club in 2015. Twitter photo

Tengco with Joe and Jill Biden in July 2020 when he joined the campaign as Chief of Staff for the Coalitions Department. Facebook photo

THE FILAM |

Camille Calimlim Touton is being named Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. She said, “I congratulate President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland on their excellent choice, their appointment of Camille Touton as the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Ms. Touton has been one of my most trusted advisors on water policy for over a decade. She is an engineer, who has counseled U.S. Senators, Members of Congress, and was a leader in the Obama Administration’s Department of Interior’s Office of Water and Science. “Ms. Touton is a master of the complicated issues of Western water policy, who fully understands the grave threats posed by climate change and unpredictable drought cycles. She is well respected by the wide spectrum of water leaders, including Democrats and Republicans, federal, state, and local water officials, and non-governmental groups. “Her appointment is also historic, as Ms. Touton becomes the first Filipino American to serve in this important agency leadership role. “Although I am losing Ms. Touton for a second time to the Administration, I couldn’t be happier for her, and I am glad the Department is again, getting her great leadership, competency, and expertise.” Entertainment journalist Ruben Nepales writes that Touton’s parents are from his home province of Pangasinan.

COVER STORY

Welcome to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Joe Biden entered his new home for the first time on January 20 after he was officially sworn in as the 46th president of the United States -- “a president for all Americans.” He took his oath at the Capitol together with Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman in U.S. history elected to the position. “Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy,” Biden said in his inaugural address, urging unity and healing while calling for an end to the “uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.” As he walked to the White House – together with first lady Jill Biden and their family and layers of security escorts -- Biden would stop by the side of the road to wave or shake the hand of a supporter. Then he would rejoin his family and assume his place in the ceremonial walk, looking pleased that a new government has taken over and the wheels of constitutional democracy are on the move. In the following photos, we will see a president, who at age 78, appeared eager to take on

Joe and Jill Biden reach the carpeted doorstep.

Biden steps out of his Black Cadillac greeted by welcome cheers from crowds on both sides of the road.

“A whole bunch of Bidens” – echoing Amy Klobuchar -- starts the trek to the White House. At far right, the controversial Hunter Biden carrying his months-old son named after his brother Beau.

THE FILAM |

An affectionate embrace before opening the portal to their new home. the monumental tasks ahead – the crippling pandemic, unemployment and job losses, and divisiveness across all fronts, among many issues. Through these photos, let us join Joe Biden as he walks the winding path to his home in the next four years and let us all extend a hand in welcoming him as our President. Photos: JoeBiden.com Facebook page

A wave from the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

In lieu of the traditional big crowds at the inauguration, a sea of American flags in front of the Capitol.

THE FILAM |

Cecilia Aragon writes a memoir about fear and flying

The author is a nationally recognized computer scientist and an Engineering professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. Photo: Blackstone Publishing

The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon has published a memoir about being the first Latina pilot on the U.S. Aerobatic Team.

“F

lying Free: My Victory over Fear” is the story of how Cecilia broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by combining math and logic with her passion for flying in unexpected ways, says a description by Blackstone Publishing. The book was released in September. She grew up as a shy, timid child in a small Indiana town during the 1960s. Targeted by school bullies and dismissed by many of her teachers, she worried that people would find out that she was “INTF. Incompetent. Nerd. Terrified. Failure.” This feeling stayed with her well into her 20s when she was told that girls couldn’t do science or

The book tells how Aragon overcame her many phobias. Photo: University of Washington

women just didn’t know how to handle machines. Cecilia recounted in her website how at 25 years old, she was scared of elevators. “My graduate school administrator once found me crying in the ninth-floor women’s restroom, after I’d climbed eight flights of stairs, too frightened to jump past the elevator doors,” she said. “My muscles stiffened whenever I climbed a ladder, shook hands with a stranger, or talked on the telephone. This physical reaction bewildered me, but I had no idea how to avoid it. It seemed that whenever I had to perform, my brain circuits got jammed by fear, and I froze…” Yet in the span of just six years, a lot has changed. By 1991, she became an airshow pilot and the owner of a flight school. She became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team, representing her country at the Olympics of aviation, the World Aerobatic Championships. Using mathematical techniques to overcome her fear, she performed at air shows in front of millions of people. She jumped out of airplanes and taught others how to fly. She learned how to fund-raise and earn money to compete at the world level. She worked as a THE FILAM |

test pilot and contributed to the design of experimental airplanes, crafting curves of metal and fabric that shaped air to lift inanimate objects high above the earth. And best of all, she surprised everyone by overcoming the prejudices people held about her because of her race and her gender. Eventually, she won over her parents who were initially worried about her choice of a career. “At first my parents didn’t really understand what I was doing,” she told the University of Washington News. “They both had negative images of aviation from their experiences during World War II, and they both personally witnessed small aircraft crashing at early airshows in the 1930s and ’40s. I was able to explain to them how seriously I took safety, and how the technology had improved since their childhoods. They also came to watch my aerobatic flying at shows and contests, and there they were able to see that I wasn’t thrill-seeking but was performing a dance in the air that required precision and grace.” Cecilia now works as a professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is known not only as a champion aerobatic pilot but also as a computer scientist, professor and author.

A path to citizenship for essential workers? By Anthony Advincula

On a recent Monday, Maribel Lapuz got up at 4:30 a.m. The 46-year-old immigrant from the Philippines braved the sub-zero weather and took the train from Jersey City, NJ to a nursing home in Brooklyn, NY, where she has worked six days a week as a caregiver since last February.

thousand miles away, Mario Ramirez drove from one house to another starting at 5 a.m. doing construction and plumbing work in Marietta, Georgia. Ramirez, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant, has never missed a working day since the start of the pandemic. “When the Trump administration sent the $1,200 stimulus checks to workers,” Lapuz said, “I didn’t get it; I was ignored.” “Someone like me in this country is not eligible for unemployment,” Ramirez said. “That means I can’t stop working in order to support my family, despite the risk of COVID-19.” Their situations may soon change. Deemed “essential workers” by the federal government, Lapuz and Ramirez are among the 5 million undocumented immigrants who may be rewarded a path to citizenship—and it could happen during the first days of the Biden-Harris administration. Indispensable to American life and economy, undocumented essential workers are now at the core of an immigration plan currently being drafted by congressional Democrats and immigrant rights advocates, and aggressively promoted by the incoming administration. The new immigration legislation—folded into the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill that Biden unveiled last week—will include granting undocumented essential workers a green card and decreasing the wait time to obtain U.S. citizenship. “Essential workers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, are unsung American heroes—risking their lives during this deadly pandemic to care for our communities and ensure food is on the table,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said in a recent virtual press conference. “I’m working on legislation to immediately protect essential workers and their families from deportation and provide them with a fast-track path to citizenship.” Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in publicly on the issue. Speaking last week with

Spanish-language Univision, she said the incoming administration would automatically grant green cards not only to undocumented essential workers but also to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients as well as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and shorten by five years the time it takes to get U.S. citizenship. “The incoming administration has a golden opportunity to set things right and offer immigrant essential workers and their families relief from this pandemic, relief from persecution because of their immigration status, and relief from invisibility,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights, on a press call organized by America’s Voice. Pushback from Republicans has already started. Lora Ries, former acting deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, told The Los Angeles Times that the legislation will create more problems. “Such rewards will attract more people to illegally enter the U.S. to await their eventual green card, undermining border security,” The Biden government is said to be drafting a plan to legalize Ries said. essential workers, such as caregivers. Stock photo Some immigration advocates and scholars also question whether the upcoming immigration plan is the right approach. If U.S. Senate, defended the immigration plan for the Biden-Harris administration proposes to undocumented essential workers. extend legalization opportunities to 5 million “It’s not that we are not going to deal with other undocumented essential workers, what about the undocumented immigrants,” Padilla said on the other 8 million undocumented immigrants? call with reporters. “Because of the urgency of “Millions of immigrant workers are on the COVID relief, it’s better to act sooner rather than frontlines, risking their lives to keep our country later.” running. The depth of this crisis requires urgency,” “I’m very excited when I heard about this great said Mary Kay Henry, president of SEIU, on the news,” Lapuz said in Jersey City. “But I can’t help press call with America’s Voice. “We can’t beat the worrying that they are sending another false hope. virus when millions of undocumented essential I have been through this before.” workers are left out. Providing [a fast-track to “My family has been waiting for this moment. citizenship] is the only way we’ll be able to tackle We risk our lives and help this country to survive the pandemic.’ the pandemic,” Ramirez said. “We should not be Alex Padilla, California’s Secretary of State who left in the dark anymore. My children were all born replaced Vice President Kamala Harris in the here—this is our home.” THE FILAM |

EDGESTONE REALTY www.kpedgestone.com (732) 307-3200

LOOKING FOR A REAL ESTATE AGENT CALL ME TODAY!

Gene Del Carmen

Trendy diets: What works, what doesn’t? ||Keto

On the Keto menu: meats, dairy, nuts, avocados, cheese, fish, poultry and non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and leafy greens. You avoid bread, cereals, pasta, legumes and most fruits. A heaping 70 to 80 percent of your daily calories will come from fat, 10 to 20 percent from protein, and a scant 5 to 10 percent from carbs. Any diet that stars bacon would seem a dubious road to weight loss. But there is solid science behind it. If you deprive the body of carbs to make glucose, it starts burning your stored fat as its energy source, a process called ketosis. Fat is also very filling: Eating Keto can suppress your appetite and reduce cravings so you may take in fewer calories, says Samantha Cassetty, a registered dietitian in New York City and co-author of Sugar Shock. Does it work? Some research has found that going Keto can help you drop pounds if you can stick with it. A 2020 study in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism, for example, found that participants (34 men and women ages 60 to 75) in an eight-week trial lost an average of nearly 15 pounds. There's not yet a lot of research into Keto's longer-term benefits for weight loss, however. The downside: Leaving out fruit and whole grains can result in constipation and nutrient deficiencies, so supplementation might be necessary. Eating this way can be hard to sustain — when you go back to eating your ordinary crackers and pasta, you may gain the weight back. And consuming too much meat may increase your cholesterol levels over time. “We don't know the cardiac consequences of following this diet long term,” says Smith. In the short term, you may suffer “Keto flu” symptoms such as nausea, fatigue and headaches as your body adjusts. Remember: Fat is not the enemy. The low-fat diet craze that started in the ‘80s may have scared dieters away from all fats. But not all fats are bad fats. “Eating moderate portions of healthy fats can help you lose weight. Unsaturated fats like olives, nuts, seeds and olive oil can help reduce appetite and promote a feeling of fullness,” says Cassetty.

||Paleo

Also known as the Stone Age diet, this approach asks you to eat like a supposed long-ago hunter-gatherer ancestor: If it wasn't served up around the cave fire after a long day of fishing, hunting or foraging, it's off limits. You eat fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and avoid processed foods, grains, dairy and legumes, and added sugar and salt. Proponents say that our bodies evolved to eat only foods available to early humans and that sticking to those can help fend off such modern-day scourges as heart

Fat and fasting, what some diets are recommending. Photo: Getty Images disease, diabetes and cancer while helping you lose weight. Does it work? Small short-term studies have shown that Paleo can help you drop pounds and reduce your waist circumference. Like Keto, the long-term weight loss benefits require more research, Smith says. The downside: This diet excludes beans, chickpeas and other legumes because they are cultivated rather than foraged. “But this category is full of nutrients like magnesium and folate, and are some of the healthiest foods on the planet,” Cassetty says. Plus, in the modern world, it may be difficult to stick with the diet's restrictions. Remember: Eat real foods. The standard American diet today is filled with ultra-processed foods and processed ingredients our forebears wouldn't recognize. Limiting these categories as Paleo does is a smart idea. Filling up on those caveperson faves — high-fiber, low-cal fruits and vegetables — can help keep pounds off.

||16/8 intermittent fasting

With the 16/8 diet, you eat all your daily calories during an eight-hour window, then abstain completely the other 16. You might finish dinner by 8 p.m., say, then fast until lunch the next day. (Noncaloric beverages like coffee and water are OK.) By limiting the amount of time you eat every day, you may THE FILAM |

naturally take in fewer daily calories, Smith says. Fasting can kick your body into burning stored fat and provide other metabolic benefits that may boost longevity. Does it work? To date, most of the research into fasting for weight loss has been done with animals. In humans, the evidence is mixed: One 2018 study published in the journal Nutrition and Healthy Aging found following a 16/8 regimen for three months decreased body weight by about 3 percent. But a 2020 human study in JAMA Internal Medicine showed little weight loss benefit: Overweight adults assigned to fast for 16 hours a day for three months lost only two or three pounds — much of it healthy muscle mass, not body fat. The downside: Not eating for long periods takes lots of will power and can be hard to stick with over the long haul. “Fasting can foster an unhealthy attitude toward food. You are not learning to listen to your natural hunger cues, which is important for maintaining a healthy relationship with food,” Smith says. Fasting is not safe for people with prediabetes, diabetes or a history of disordered eating, she adds. Remember: Don't nosh around the clock. Deciding the kitchen is closed after dinner can prevent mindless midnight munching. “Giving yourself a natural 12-hour break allows your body to get into healing and maintenance mode while you sleep instead of putting energy into digesting,” Cassetty says. -- AARP

A platform for Filipinos yearning to reconnect with their roots By Zia Kalong

Suyomano is a virtual platform focused on cultural learning experiences touching on local languages, indigenous tribal cultures and medicine, mythology, traditional martial arts, food and beyond. Suyomano is made up of two unique Tagalog words: “Suyo” which means gentle affection and “mano” which is a gesture of respect.

“W

e believe that bringing forth the best of Filipino cultural heritage will spark a global movement that will connect people around the world through cultural understanding,” said CEO and co-founder Mary Lou Cunanan. Cunanan worked at the U.S. State Department Scholar and lived in Virginia for almost a decade. She went back to the Philippines after spending time in Southeast Asia, got her MBA, and founded Suyomano. With the pandemic forcing traditional four-cornered classrooms to evolve into e-learning platforms, there is a newfound interest in online language learning. An article by NBC News explores how Asian Americans used the quarantine to learn their families’ languages. The article featured Suyomano’s cultural classes: “For these Asian Americans, it starts with a shared appreciation for the language and a desire to pass it down generations. Learning is an opportunity to come together and reconnect with their roots.” As Suyomano’s Jackielyn Junio puts it, “Learning our language, traditions and history are all essential to understanding ourselves.”

CEO Mary Lou Cunanan: ‘I wanted to give justice to the beauty, depth and diversity of our culture.’ The idea of reconnecting with one’s roots has become a salient theme recently. Just last November, Disney UK released the its Filipino-themed Christmas Advertising featuring the heartwarming story of a lola and her apo. As a family-oriented people, Filipinos are no strangers to stories like this. Many Filipino grandchildren share a special bond with their grandparents, often built throughout childhood and cemented through adulthood. That’s why we always find ourselves going the extra mile to send out pasalubong (souvenirs) and balikbayan boxes from wherever we are, craving lutong bahay (home-cooked meals) like Adobo and Sinigang, and lining up to the nearest Jollibee store whenever we miss home. No matter where we go, something inside us is always yearning for a taste of home. This is why we believe in preserving and teaching the next generation the Filipino language. We believe that language plays a key role in the expression and transmission of cultures. There are over 10 million Filipinos living and working all over the world. We are a global people. We have a knack for thriving where we’re planted. It’s who we THE FILAM |

are, and it’s our job to keep and protect that identity for the futures to come. We at Suyomano curate carefully crafted courses on Filipino culture, language, arts, traditions, and destinations, featuring experts and leaders from every field and industry both at home and abroad. Value, authenticity, and diversity are at the heart of the work we do. 16

In support of cultural heritage preservation, for example, we are proud to partner with Lyn Lambago, a T’boli artist and cultural worker, in honoring the T’boli culture as proceeds of Lyn's classes go to her tribal T'boli house. “I have always dreamt of a platform that celebrates, promotes, and preserves the wonders of the Filipino culture,” said Cunanan. “Our culture is so rich and unique, and I wanted to give justice to its beauty, depth and diversity.” All of our classes are online and can be accessed anywhere in the world, offering our students full freedom and physical safety from the ongoing threat of the pandemic. Many of our kababayans had to leave everything behind in pursuit of opportunities abroad, to provide for their children and families. We offer this as an ode to their sacrifice, hoping to retrieve what was lost somewhere in between.

Remembering Frank Forlini and the Los Banos Raid of 1945

his February will be the fourth year that Forlini’s Restaurant will miss the captivating presence of Frank Forlini, an Army veteran who belonged to the 11th Airborne Division and helped in the rescue of thousands of POWs in Los Banos during World War II. Frank, a friend of the Filipino community, passed away on November 14, 2017. Every year since 1980, the 11th Airborne would hold a reunion in his family-owned Italian restaurant in Chinatown. Over Cabernet Sauvignon and calamari, the remaining members of the unit and some Filipino veterans from New York and New Jersey would gather to recall a time they became liberators to about 2,100 prisoners of war in Los Banos in the island of Luzon. To understand why their reunions were held in February, their daredevil attack took place in the early morning darkness of February 23, 1945. I interviewed him in 2011 when he was 88 years old. In his advancing years, he spent his time with family and kept busy playing cards and attending senior citizen events at his local church. He seldom came to the restaurant but always made it a point to be there when February came around. The FilAm: What was your role in the rescue? Frank Forlini: I did not take part in the Los Banos Raid itself. I was injured on February 3, 1945 at Tagaytay Ridge on Highway 17 when we were ambushed by the Japanese. I was shot in my left leg and had shrapnel wounds in my neck. I was moving up Highway 17 with tanks and units of artillery observers when all of a sudden, we were ambushed by the Japanese who had hidden themselves on the right bank of Highway 17. Fortunately, I was very thin and was able to take cover in shallow ground. However, the shrapnel from a knee mortar hit me in my left heel. Capt. Lyman, who was my commander, turned to me and said, ‘Forlini,

By Cristina DC Pastor

I am hit in the jugular vein, and unless I get to a doctor in 10 minutes, I’m dead.’ When I was crawling back I saw Hoffman (a trooper) had been hit with four or five bullets in one leg. Then I saw another trooper bleeding from the head and in ‘shell shock.’ I got to the Jeep and asked for the driver. I told him about the people who needed medical attention immediately. We started to crawl to the Jeep and picked up Hoffman and the trooper. Our main concern was Capt. Lyman as he had blood all over him. The medic came and took all of us in an ambulance and we were driven to Nasugbu General Hospital. I recuperated at the 44th General Hospital in New Caledonia, then a French colony in the Pacific. After two months there, I was shipped back to the

‘I remember the warmth, the honesty, and the great spirit of the Filipinos.’ Photos courtesy of Frank Forlini

The young paratrooper in Luzon island. THE FILAM |

States, limping from the shrapnel that hit my heel. On December 14, 1945, I was discharged.” TF: What’s the annual reunion at Forlini’s like? FF: It is always held in February. There are a few of us older veterans around who try and make it every year. Even after some of our members pass on, their families still make it to the reunion to honor their memories and visit old friends. The reunion features presentations by members and guests — such as a history of the raid, news about other paratrooper regiments, update on American military cemeteries around the world, and so on. My son-in-law, John Cipollina, collects memorabilia from WW II and brings his latest findings to the reunion. Once he brought a WW II-era parachute and uniform, and samples of the money that Japanese government said the Philippine people used during the war. TF: How many members are still around? FF: I don’t know the exact numbers. But among those who attended our reunion, we had John Noonan, a Master Sergeant when he was in the Philippines. He is now the administrative law judge at the Social Security Administration in the Bronx. Among the civilian survivors, there’s retired Jesuit priest Fr. John Ruane. He was a 24-year-old priest at the time of the rescue. There’s also Fred Diaz, a Filipino war veteran who fought in Bataan and who is now a resident of New Jersey. TF: What’s your endearing memory of the Filipino people? FF: I remember their warmth, their honesty, and their great spirit. They were very nice to me. They tried to help us soldiers as much as they could. They shared their food and their appreciation. I visited the Philippines back in 1980 for a reunion and it was wonderful. The people were friendly, warm, and it was so nice to see the beautiful country.

COVER STORY

Kalaya’an Mendoza: The face of a Filipino Antifa By Cristina DC Pastor

Kalaya’an Mendoza is the co-founder of Across Frontlines, an organization that works alongside human rights activists to keep them safe during mass actions. He has been engaged in nonviolent civil resistance for the past two decades, including the years he spent as a grassroots organizer and field director for Amnesty International USA. He was born in Manila and immigrated with his family to the U.S. when he was 2 years old. As a young teen, he had witnessed appalling racial profiling in his school campus in California. “I have been anti-fascist since I was 14 years old fighting to have the San Jose Police Department taken off of my high school campus for racially profiling Filipino, Vietnamese and Mexican youth.” He has been engaged in “a lifetime of social justice work” that opened his eyes to other forms of injustices focusing on, among other issues, LGBT rights and Black Lives Matter. The anti-fascist movement called Antifa is very much a part of what he stands for. “I’m 41 now, so I guess you can say I have been anti-fascist most of my life,” he said when interviewed by The FilAm. The FilAm (TF): For the benefit of some in our community who fear Antifa is a terror organization, what is it and what is it not? Kalaya’an Mendoza (KM): Simply put Antifa = Antifascists. If you are against fascism, you’re Antifa. Fascists are the hateful, violent insurrectionists we all saw attacking our nation’s Capitol building on January 6. They spawned out of Franco’s regime in Spain and Hitler’s rise in Nazi Germany. They are the manifestation of intolerance, hate and domination. Antifa or Antifascists are people who care about social justice and keeping our communities safe from the brutality of fascists both in and out of uniform. We oppose, decry and protect our communities against fascist violence from the state and non-state actors. TF: The word Antifa has been around for a long time but why is it only now gaining traction during the Trump regime? KM: The now twice impeached occupant of the White House has been creating an environment of fear based in lies for the last four years. He has painted Black Lives Matter Activists, Indigenous Water Protectors and Antifa(schists) with a liars’

brush. He has done this as a smoke screen and red herring to cover up the negligence, incompetence and genocide of his administration. By creating a climate of fear he sought to use us to distract the country and the world from his fascist policies. From the caging of immigrants, to the demonization of Black activists to utterly failing in his COVID response, he wanted to use us as a scapegoat to his arrogant failings as a president.

‘If you are against fascism, you’re Antifa.’

Kalaya’an with Across Frontlines Training Facilitator Bradley Tangonan. Photo: Cindy Trinh THE FILAM |

TF: Antifa has been discredited as thugs and troublemakers. How has that hurt your movement? KM: Fascists always call Antifascists “thugs and troublemakers.” That only means that what we are doing is working. We are doing the work that this settler colonial government won’t. I live in Jackson Heights, Queens, the epicenter of the epicenter at the start of the COVID pandemic. The government left us to die alone in body bags inside refrigeration trucks. We stepped up to ensuring that our elderly and immunocompromised neighbors were able to get their medication delivered, we leaned on our networks to find and pass out PPE to both our community and frontline healthcare workers, we did what this government refused to do; we kept us safe. TF: What are some of your tactics? I read somewhere that you are essentially non-violent but can be when confronted with force by white supremacists. KM: Mutual aid, mutual protection, direct action, and community safety are our tactics.

We do what we need to in order to protect our communities from white supremacists. TF: What was Antifa doing during the Capitol riots? Some are blaming you for it. KM: We were at home watching the exercise in white power and violence on our screens just like you. Personally, I was in the middle of preparing a Community Safety and Preparedness training for communities of color during the riots. Many others were supporting their communities knowing the threat of white supremacist violence was on the horizon. The FBI has found NO evidence of Antifa being at the Capitol, so this is just a laughable accusation. TF: Tell us about Across Frontlines. What can you do, have you done when protests turn violent? KM: Across Frontlines is a collective that works in solidarity alongside human rights defenders to keep their communities safe from state and non-state actor violence. We train activists and

At a Black Trans Lives Matter march in New York. Photo: @Mikiodo Instagram community members to protect themselves from violence using strategies and frameworks we learned from and co-built with human rights defenders from Myanmar to Thailand to Aotearoa

THE FILAM |

(colonially known as New Zealand). TF: Have you ever been hurt? How do you protect yourself? KM: At protests both here and abroad I have been pepper-sprayed,

tear gassed, put in stress positions, waterboarded, beaten, had my foot broken and a host of other injuries by the fascists both in and out of uniform. Due to the escalation of violence by white supremacists I have had to purchase body armor in order to be able to keep my community safe on the frontlines from violence. But what really keeps me safe is the solidarity, protection and care I receive from my community. Our friendships were forged in the fires of the uprisings this summer. Two comrades and dear friends, Rice and River not only support my physical safety and security but my emotional as well. TF: How does your family feel about the work that you do? KM: My parents are supportive, kind and patient beyond that which I deserve. They saw me grow up from a shy sensitive, young gay kid that cared fiercely about the world into who I am now. And have always loved and supported me, even if they were deeply worried for my well-being.

Issue 36, February 2021

Frank Forlini & the Los Banos Raid of 1945

Kalaya’an Mendoza

The face of a Filipino Antifa

Illustration by Hsiao Jung

Patricia Dinglasan Finding laughs in a plague year