2014 September 4

JFAV Letter to the Editor

JFAV UPDATE
September 04, 2014

JFAV Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

We, in the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV), an alliance of Filipino World War II Veterans organizations, students and youth organizations as well as community advocates and allies in the United States wrote to you to expresse our elation with the arrest of pseudo veterans advocate Eli Pamatong in Manila yesterday, September 04, 2014.

We, in JFAV and other allied organizations condemn his usurpation, use and appropriation of the historical name of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE),

He named his organization, “United States Army Freedom Fighters in the East or “ Usaffe” ( note the small italics- Pamatong style)) to give it a clever ring and recall for the elderly population and the public at large in the Philippines.

By using the acronym of the USAFFE, he dishonor and degraded the memories of Filipino and American men and women of the unit that bravely fought the Battle of Bataan and Corregidor and the Philippines from 1941 to May 1942.

Many of the USAFFE American and Filipino officers and men did not surrender to the Japanese and joined the resistance movement from 1941-1945. . They led the four-year war of resistance in the Philippines and eventually the liberation of the country from October 1944 to September 2, 1945.

We are aware that a pro-Marcos student leader in the 1970’s Eli Pamatong became one the Marcos dictatorship psychopath and graduated to be as a for hire political leader at the pay of dirty politicians in the Philippines who is now running for president in 2016.

We fervently hope that the Philippine authorities file charges against Eli Pamatong for his activities inimical to the interest of the Philippine public and duly constituted authorities.

We will highly commend the Aquino III government if they will finally prosecute and keep Pamatong in jail and pay for his crimes against the people and the Aquino government in the guise of defending the republic against China’s aggression.

By this act, the Philippine government honors the USAFFE and its valorous and glorious history being smeared and dragged into the mud by politicians like Pamatong.

Very Truly Yours,

Arturo P. Garcia
National Coordinator, JFAV
Los Angeles

September 04, 2014

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LETTER TO US PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE TPS REQUEST

LETTER TO US PRESIDENT OBAMA ON TPS REQUEST

July 4, 2014

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Today is a happy day. For us Filipino-Americans, we are celebrating not only the independence day of our adopted country but also we are celebrating the affirmation of the friendship that exists between the United States and our mother country, the Filipino-American Friendship Day.

It is my thoughts about that friendship which I would like to share with you, thoughts that made me take the liberty of encroaching on your valuable time.

July 4th has always been celebrated in the Philippines as its independence day until the late President Diosdado Macapagal proclaimed June 12 as the independence day but he retained the July 4th celebration naming it the Filipino-American Friendship Day, in honor of the ties that bind the United States and the Philippines, ties that are sealed in blood and fire.

Ever since, the Philippines has always been friendly with the United States. It has shown this friendliness time and again in the past and in the present. In the past, even when Japan liberated the Philippines from the United States in World War ll, it was with the United States that it sided still. The Filipinos fought with America in its war against communism in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Recently, the Filipinos swallowed their pride and sovereignty by allowing US troops to occupy ground and naval bases in the Philippines to help the United States in its Pivot to Asia Defense Strategy.

But what has the United States given the Filipinos in return? Just last year, the Philippines was devastated by the strongest typhoon in history, typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. More than six thousand Filipinos were killed, six million were displaced, and property damages amounted to more than a billion dollars.

Against this catastrophic backdrop, the Philippines asked the United States TPS (Temporary Protected Status ) coverage to overstaying Filipinos here in the US so they could work legally, albeit temporarily, so they would be able to help financially their afflicted countrymen. But their pleas had fallen on deaf ears. They asked for TPS since last December 2013 and that was eight months ago. When countries like El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Somalia, and South Sudan asked for TPS coverage for their citizens here in US, their requests were readily granted.

Our friendship with the United States is more than all these countries combined friendship could offer.

That is why I’m writing you Mr. President to tell you that the US refusal on the Philippines’ request for TPS is not an act of a friend. I hope you understand the sincerity of the Philippines’ friendship.

Despite difficulties, I still retain hope that this friendship will last for a long, long time. A friendship based on equality and moral obligation awareness.

Therefore my dear President, for the sake of the US-Philippines friendship, for the sake of millions of afflicted Filipinos, please grant the TPS now.

Mabuhay ang America! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Respectfully yours,

Austin G. Baul

FACLA President

FACLA FEEDING PROGRAM/FOOD DISTRIBUTION FOR FILAMS ON SEPT. 27

EPCC NEWS

September 04, 2014

FACLA FEEDING PROGRAM/FOOD DISTRIBUTION FOR FILAMS ON SEPT. 27

Los Angeles—The HIFI CALI EXPO LLC, Filipino Ministry of the Wilshire United Methodist Church of Wilshire ( FM-WUMC) and the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) on Saturday, September 27, 2014 from 9:00 AM to 11:00.AM

FACLA Director and Ms. FILAM INTERNATIONAL LLC President Bernie Targa-Ganon “ The feeding program has been one of the community services feature of FACLA since July 2014 and it is in this third month. We call all Fil-Am seniors and indigent needy families to avail of this feeding program.”

Pastor Rudy Somaling of FM-WUMC also said; “ we are not only involve on feeding the souls but also helping people to make their daily ends meet.”

Food Distribution Every Last Saturday of the Month

On the other hand FACLA President Jun Baul said, “we welcome this monthly community service activity of these organizations so they can help in feeding the Fil-Am seniors, veterans, widows and indigent families and distributing food to the families who need it.”

The Justice for Filipino American veterans (JFAV) MS FILAM INTRNATIONAL LLC and the Seniors for Filipino American Community Empowerment supports this once a month endeavor and community service that is held in FACLA every last Saturday of very month.

For more information please call FACLA c/o Clarita Julian or Cording at or JFAV at email us

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