Media Release

May 22, 2013

ALL SET FOR THE FIRST PH INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE in HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN ON JUNE 8

Los Angeles—Two weeks to go, and  it’s all set for the first  Philippine Independence Day Parade in Historic Filipinotown.

This was announced by no less than the Deputy Consul Daniel Espiritu and Arturo P. Garcia, of People’s CORE and FACLA , the parade coordinator  during the ever  joint Fellowship of three different chapters of the Knights of Rizal (KOR) was successfully held at the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) last Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Deputy Consul Espiritu confirmed that more than 50 regional and provincial organizations have confirmed their intention to participate in the parade to be held in Historic Filipinotown on Saturday, June 8 starting at 8:OO AM.

The FACLA Compound  at 1749 W, Temple St/Burlington St will be the starting point of the parade.

Independence Day Grand Parade in June 8

Deputy Consul Daniel Espiritu, also confirmed that at least 20 organizations will participate in the Festival program after the parade to be held at the compound of the Silver Lake Medical Center where the festival program will be  held up to 4:00 PM.

The different organizations  will have their own booth and display  the particular culture, tradition and products from their places.

This is the first time that a Philippine Independence Day parade will be held in Historic Filipinotown. The last parade that passed through the area was at the 100^th Anniversary of the Philippine Independence in June 1998.  The parade started from Macarthur Park and ended at Echo Park.

This time the parade will start the FACLA /Burlington St and will go to Dillon St. at SIPA and will march back to FACLA and the Silver Lake Medical Center for the afternoon event at the festival program.

For more information on the Independence Day PArade in HFT please call  or email at 

 

JFAV UPDATES

May 21, 2013

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSED AMENDMENTS FOR FILVETS FAMILY REUNIFiCATION

Los Angeles— The  Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) and all its allies applauds Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) for her work to strengthen our family immigration system.

Arturo P. Garcia , JFAV National Corodinator said; “ Although JFAV is extremely disappointed that the news from Washington reported today that the Senate Judiciary committee refused to accept Sen. Hirono’s amendment, which would have provided limited relief for families experiencing extreme hardships.

On the other hand we are happy that Sen. Hirono also offered an amendment to allow Filipino World War II veterans to reunite with their loved ones here in the U.S., which passed by a voice vote.”

JFAV Commends Hirono

JFAV’s Garcia also  commended Sen. Hirono’s willingness to stand up for our communities and for leading the efforts to restore justice to Filipino veterans and their families. “ We also  thank Sen. Hirono and the six members who stood with the millions of families awaitingmeaningful family reunification. We look forward to working with the Senate on a solution that addresses all families.” Garcia added.

As the only immigrant on the Senate Judiciary committee and in the U.S. Senate, Hirono offered an amendment (Hirono 10) that, if adopted, would have alleviated the extreme hardship some immigrants may experience due to the prolonged separation from their brother, sister, son or daughter not in the U.S. This amendment failed on a vote of 7-11. For many U.S. citizens a sibling or adult child abroad may be the only family he or she has.

Effects on Filipinos and Asian Communities

For JFAV and all immigrants advocate, Garcia also said “  the failure of the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass an amendment that would have strengthened family immigration by considering extreme hardships will have a devastating effect on immigrant communities across the country, including Filipinos.”

Garcia promised that; “  We will continue to mobilize to ensure that the path to family reunification remains open and does not exclude our brothers, sisters, and adult married children.”

The final roll call vote on Hirono 10:

The AYES were Sens. Hirono, Blumenthal, Coons, Franken, Klobuchar, Leahy and Whitehouse.

The NAYS were Sens. Cornyn, Cruz, Durbin, Feinstein, Flake, Graham, Grassley, Hatch, Lee, Sessions and Schumer.

For more information about jfav please call  or email at

Knights of Rizal (KOR)-HFT

Media Release

May 21, 2013

First Joint Fellowship of the Knights of Rizal, May 19 ,  A  Resounding Success

Los Angeles—The first  ever  joint Fellowship of three different chapters of the Knights of Rizal (KOR) was successfully held at the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) last Sunday, May 19, 2013.

The historic affair was graced by Grand Knight Dr. Jose David Lapuz from the Philippines and Deputy Consul Daniel Espiritu of the Philippine Consulate General of Los Angeles. Both were the guests of honor and speakers.

Independence Day Grand Parade in June 8

Daniel Espiritu in his speech praised the growth of the Knights of Rizal since the last visit of Dr. Lapuz in 2008.  “ From one chapter in Los Angeles, the group grew to three more chapter, the latest is the  KOR Historic Filipinotown  based here in FACLA and the KOR California” , Espiritu said.

Espiritu also commended the plan of the KOR to recruit more women and form the KOR Ladies Auxillaries in the future.

Deputy Consul Espiritu also related the preparations for the 115^th Independence Day and the Grand Parade to be held in Historic Filipinotown on June 8. “There are at least more than 50 groups from regional to town organizations who have committed to participate in the said event.” He added.

He also pointed out the FACLA and the Consulate collaboration for the parade and festival for the 115th Philippine Independence Day celebrations in Southern California.

Learn from Rizal

FACLA president Austin Baul Jr. opened the fellowship by thanking the guests of honor and pledging FACLA’  support to the Knights of Rizal’s activities especially the KOR-Historic Filipinotown is based in FACLA.

Meanwhile , Dr. Lapuz extolled the virtues of the national hero Dr. Rizal and adviced the group to be like Rizal; “Study, study and study. Rizal already knew Spanish but he still got a tutor to teach him Spanish in Madrid”, Lapuz intimated.

The affair was closed by a sumptuous meal prepared by FACLA after the investiture ceremonies on new members presided by Grand Knight Tony Berango and Dr. Lapuz, the guest of honor.

For more information on the Knights of Rizal (KOR) please call  or email at 

 

Dep. ConGen Daniel Espiritu gave a short talk focusing on the achievements of Knight of Rizal in Los Angeles.

Prof. David Lapuz, guest speaker of the Fellowship, talk about the relevance of Jose Rizal in relation to the present global issues..

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Filipino-American voters went mostly for Administration candidates in Monday’s national elections, according to the Philippine Embassy, which sees this as an affirmation of support for the reforms initiated by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

The results of the official canvass of election returns from across the United States released by the Embassy on Wednesday show administration candidates taking 10 of the 12 seats that were up for grabs in the Senate.

Administration candidate Francis Escudero topped the Senate race in the US with 9,464 votes followed by Alan Peter Cayetano, 9,174; Grace Poe, 9,029; Loren Legarda, 8,696; Aquilino Pimentel III, 8,448; Bam Aquino, 8,267; Juan Edgardo Angara, 7,735;  Richard Gordon, 7,291; Ramon Magsaysay Jr., 7,187; Riza Hontiveros, 6,983;  Antonio Trillanes, 6,521 and Juan Miguel Zubiri, 4,908. All were administration candidates except for Gordon and Zubiri.

“This is a vote of confidence for the President and the reforms he has undertaken since he assumed office in 2010,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said in a statement shortly after the Special Board of Canvassers at the Embassy concluded its canvass of election returns from the US mainland and Hawaii.

A total of 14,098 ballots were received from the 93,229 registered Filipino-American voters in areas served by the Embassy in Washington, DC and the Consulates General in Agana, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco during the ­­­absentee voting process from 13 April to 13 May.

Among the party-list groups vying for seats in the House of Representatives, it was the OFW Family Club Inc. that garnered the most votes from the Filipino-American Community with 1,470 votes, followed by the Coalition of Association of Senior Citizens in the Philippines, 743; Gabriela Women’s Party, 642; Citizens Battle Against Corruption, 609; Bayan Muna, 585; and Migrante Sectoral Party of Overseas Filipinos and their Families, 460.

Others in the list were You Against Corruption and Poverty, 404; Akbayan Citizens Action Party, 358; Pilipinos with Disabilities, 291; Ang Nars Inc., 262; Magdalo Para sa Pilipino, 231; Alyansa ng OFW Party, 231; Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Education Reforms, 214; Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano Inc., 159; and Act Teachers Party-List, 143.

“I would like to thank all our kababayans for keeping their faith in the democratic process by participating in the mid-term elections,” Ambassador Cuisia said.

Although the turnout for the 2013 midterm elections represented only 15 percent of the number of registered voters, Ambassador Cuisia said he was still more than satisfied as the number of Filipino-Americans voters actually went up by 282 percent compared to the 3,602 who voted in the 2007 mid-term elections.

“The efforts exerted by our kababayans to cast their votes are truly encouraging and speak volumes of their commitment to the ideals of democracy wherever they are,” Ambassador Cuisia said as he cited instances where voters proceeded to polling precincts just to be able to cast their ballots.

Ambassador Cuisia also thanked Consuls General Marciano Paynor in San Francisco; Mario De Leon in New York; Hellen Dela Vega in Los Angeles; Julius Torres in Honolulu; Leo Herrera-Lim in Chicago; and Bayani Mangibin in Agana and other Foreign Service staff for helping ensure that the elections are successful.

The Ambassador cited the efforts of Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the US to reach out and convince the Filipino-American Community to register and participate in the elections. He pointed in particular their decision to keep the doors to the polling centers open until the last minute on Monday to ensure that all votes sent in are counted.

“I salute the men and women of the foreign service for really going out of the way to ensure that our kababayans are able to exercise their right to vote,” Ambassador Cuisia said. He added that he is confident that more Filipino-Americans would be able to register and vote in the 2016 presidential elections. ###

Los Angeles – The Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General  of Los Angeles will hold the the First 115th  Philippine Independence Day Grand Parade in Historic Filipinotown Los Angeles on Saturday, June 8 , 2013 starting at 8:30 AM

Los Angeles – The Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General of Los Angeles preparations for the the First 115th Philippine Independence Day Grand Parade in Historic Filipinotown Los Angeles on Saturday, June 8 , 2013 revs up.

Three days to the Philippine mid-term elections, main political groups , the United Nationalist Alliance (UBA) of the “ Three Kings” ( Estrada, Binay and Enrile) vs TEAM Pnoy of the incumbent president staged their own “miting de advances”. The UNA in Tondo, Manila while the Team Pnoy in Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City.

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