NEW FACLA NEWS
April 26, 2014

ALL SET FOR THE 69th FACLA ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, April 26, 2014

Los Angeles—Everthing is set for the sixty ninth (69) Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) anniversary, today Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 6:00 in the evening.

FACLA President Austin Baul Jr. announced the 69th FACLA anniversary celebrations to be held today, Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the FACLA Social Hall at 6:00 PM. There will also be a dinner/dance party with Buddy Reyes and his band playing.

The night of celebration will be capped with the last canvassing of the Search for Ms. FACLA and Ms. Teen FACLA , the announcement for Ms. Talent Contest that was held last April 20 during the 2nd canvassing and the coronation of the winners.

Guests of Honor

Confirmed guest of honor is the incoming Philippine Consul General of Los Angeles, Hon. Leo Herrera Lim who will grace FACLA’s 69th Anniversary. Also invited were Cerritos Mayor Mark Pulido, the first Filipino-American Mayor of the City of Cerritos and City Councilmember of District 13, Mitch O’Farrel.

FACLA was founded by four farm workers ( three men and a woman) in April 26, 1945. The FACLA building was built afterwards in 1965. Since then, FACLA championed the interests and work for the empowerment of the Filipino-American community.

Coronation Night

The 2nd canvassing for Ms. FACLA and Ms. Teen FACLA was held last Saturday, April 20, 2014. According to FACLA Director Bernie Ganon, besides the 2nd canvassing, the search for Ms. Talent was also be held at the event.

The result of the Ms. Talent will also be announced today, April 26 with the results of the last canvassing and the winners for Ms FACLA and Ms. Teen FACLA.

The winners will be crowned at the dinner-dance party with Maestro Buddy Reyes and his band performing.

The public is invited to the 69th FACLA anniversary dinner and dance party and the coronation night. Tickets for the dinner –dance is only for $ 10.00 and are available at the door.

For more information about this cultural event at FACLA, please contact Clarita Julian of FACLA or Bernie-Targa Ganon at (213)484-1527. Or please email us at [email protected]

EPCC NEWS
April 26, 2014

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FILIPINO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

By the Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) and BANTAY –PILIPINAS-USA

The elections at Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC) was held last April 12, 2014.

The turn-out of voters was one of the lowest in its 14 years history. Only 500 people voted during the GEPENC elections.

Besides the low turn-out of voters, a more serious problem rear its ugly head during the GEPENC elections

Why is there an apparent efforts to marginalize the Filipino-American community in the GEPENC 2014 Elections ?

We may have these answers for you:

1. The former GEPENC Board (2012-2013) changed the rules without even informing the public. They remove the voting by absentee ballot thus denying a lot of Fil-Am senior citizens their opportunity to vote.

This was a time honored tradition since the GEPENC held its first election last 2001. Why the change? Is it because some members of the GEPENC leadership and some politicians in the district fear the Filipino-American community?

They know that the Filipino-American community is active in the political process and they device ways to clip the emerging political empowerment of the Filipino community particularly in District 5 or the Historic Filipinotown district and District 13.

2.Another step to marginalize the Filipino-American community, they changed the definition of ‘ a stakeholder” sowing confusing on the stakeholders. The GEPENC required a “stakeholder to live or work in district 5”. They specifically declared FACLA members can only vote for a FACLA member.

A change they did not publicized in the community creating confusion among FACLA members and everybody else. It was good that somebody raised this question in the last GEPNC candidates forum and DONE representative was force to change the rules and remarked, “they will even honor a gym card.”

3.. What is more revealing is the letter from the former GEPENC treasurer Connie Acosta tells about something that is going on. Let’s read it:

“Terrence,

What person at DONE sent you Jose’s (Sigala’s withdrawal on Friday, March 24) as you stated in your email, when I knew about his Election’s withdrawal on March 25th.

Whomever was working at DONE and accepted the withdrawal form forgot that this was an important election to the stakeholders of our community. As a result, this only brought confusion to Echo Park and people are now more separate than before.

Even in your disorganization, by Friday, once you knew that Jose was not running, you could have crossed out Jose’s name on Saturday morning before the elections so not to mislead the stakeholders.

See a copy of the email sent to [email protected]

Sincerely,
Connie.”

***

4. The last and the worst is that there was no Filipino-American who speaks and can interpret or translate in the poll machinery of Empower LA that conducted the elections.

Instead the poll clerks were former GEPENC officers and the bad thing is that they were extra cautious and to the point of harassing Filipino-American seniors menacingly asking for ID cards.

Mrs. Jovy Alejandrino, an 86 senior and a member of FACLA remarked; : ” I see this as racial discrimination. There was no Filipino-speaking poll clerk and they are harassing us.”

We are calling the attention of the City Mayor, Our Councilman Mitch O’ Farrell and the Department of Neighborhood and Empowerment (DONE) on this matter.

Is the DONE now becoming an agency of racial discrimination and disempowerment? Is DONE becoming a tool of politicking and vested interests/

So, it begs the question, why were we marginalized at the 2014 elections in GEPENC?

It’s easy to see. The former GEPENC Board change the rules without even informing the public. They remove the voting by absentee ballot thus denying a lot of Fil-Am senior citizens to vote. Another thing, they changed the definition of ‘ a stakeholder” sowing confusing on the stakeholders.

It’s all tantamount to marginalizing and discriminating against the Filipino-American community.

Thus we have another GEPENC elections with the lowest turn-out. Only 500 people voted this GEPENC elections But we were able to put up a good fight.

No to the marginalization of the Filipino-American Community!

Fight for community empowerment!

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