Filipinos
will once again be in the limelight throughout the City
of San Diego as the event “Celebrating Filipino
Americans” sponsored by One Vision One Voice will be
telecast on Channel 24 on June 11, Sunday, at 11 A.M.
The event was
held in the San Diego City Council chambers and
televised live on June 6. The celebration centered on
the sharing of the Filipino culture and local
achievements to the mainstream and Filipino community.
The distinguished speakers highlighted the fascinating,
dynamic and thriving Filipino community in San Diego and
focused on historical perspectives, Filipino Language
Movement, Education and the Youth.
The
Philippine Consul General Willy Gaa shared historical
perspectives of the 100 years of sustained migration of
Filipinos to the Unites States. The first Filipinos were
sailors who jumped ship in New Orleans, Louisiana in
1763. They were the first of the Asian Pacific Islanders
who immigrated to the United Sates. But it was not until
1906, when the first recorded formal migration occurred,
when the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association hired fifteen
Ilocano workers. Consul General Gaa continued on with
the achievements of the Filipinos in the U.S. Consul Gaa
was the former Ambassador Extraordinaire and
Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China and
has also served as Philippine Ambassador to Australia,
Tipoli and Libya.
Eleonor
Castillo, President of the Filipino American Educators
Association of San Diego County, FILAMEDA, spoke on the
pathway to the success of legislation Assembly Bill 420.
AB 420 requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing to establish guidelines for alternative
assessments to allow teachers of the Filipino language,
for which there is no certification exam, to demonstrate
their proficiency. This would allow for the continued
intruction of the Filipino language in schools.
Ms.Castillo expressed the wonders of how the community
has united and rallied together about this cause.
OVOV
presented the Honorable Shirley Horton, Assembly 78th
district, with a plaque of appreciation for being the
author of AB 420. Senator Denise Moreno-Ducheny and
Assemblyman Juan Vargas were also given certificates of
appreciation for sponsoring the Bill.
Jennifer
Patacsil-Esteybar, an OVOV advocate for the youth, spoke
on the historical perspectives of the Filipino culture
and its impact on the generations. Ms. Esteybar shared
the statistics of high excellence of Filipino Americans
in education. She related the historical brain drain of
professionals from the Philippines and continued with
the range of 1st, 2nd and 3rd
generational differences among Filipinos.
Juanita
Santos Nacu, Ed.D, shared her multi-awarded “Project
Heart to Heart” and how storytelling among
inter-generations cultivates better understanding of
peoples and its cultural impact on lives. Dr. Nacu in
her articulate mild-mannered way of speaking from the
heart said, “Storytelling is all about caring and
listening and being open to learning about us and
others”. She announced her plans to establish a school
for the continuation of this project.
Captain Cesar
Solis, highest ranking Filipino American in the police
force, explained how his department has worked on youth
programs to curtail gang violence and teen suicide. The
police department has a cadet program where teenagers,
ages 16-18 years old are recruited and introduce
to law enforcement. They have successfully graduated
Filipino cadets who are now police officers. The program
is free. In 1995, when Asian gangs were at their peak,
he actively participated in the creation of a San Diego
Asian Youth organization The organization, since 1995,
has had over 5000 kids get involved and have positive
effects in the community.
Tim Suanico,
Principal at Heritage Elementary school, emphasized how
developing learning skills for the youth is a delicate
process and can be best achieved by close work between
the parents and teachers. He described a reading program
that he has advocated for, lived with and implemented.
This balanced literacy program is about children who are
developing a love affair between reading and writing. He
asked the audience to imagine a room where the children
are surrounded by thousands of books instead of their
current room where they share one book to read. Mr.
Suanico has been a principal for ten years and has
successfully raised achievement and test scores at the
elementary schools he has served.
The youth
speakers, in awe of sitting where the council members
usually sit while in session, wowed the audience
and were interrupted many times with applause. Kathleen
Ordas and Dillon Cruz, 6th grade students
from Heritage Elementary, shared what it meant for them
to be Filipino students.
Kathleen
Ordas claimed to be one of the pioneers at her school,
having studied there since it was built. She is a safety
patrol guide and has to get to school early and leave
later. She shared about her experience in writing a
non-fiction book on the “Human Body” , which won first
place in a competition. She shared her pride in her
family and learning the Filipino culture.
Dillon Cruz,
an 11 year-old who excels in literature, has been the
first to accelerate between grades in the school. He has
received many awards, always receiving academic awards
for highest scores. He eloquently spoke about the fact
that having many Filipinos in his school has allowed him
to get out of his shell. He also related attending with
his parents their Filipino organization’s local
meetings, where he has learned more about the
Philippines. And with much conviction, he stated that
his accomplishments are only the beginning.
Dan Surdilla,
a 9th grader from Bell Junior High School,
had just immigrated in the last two years
when he was 12 years old. Upon arrival, while in 7th
grade he was designated as an English learner and now in
9th
grade is an advanced English learner. He currently is the
Vice-president of his school’s International club. He
shared his experience with the International club as
they welcome students with different cultures from all
over the world. He also shared how he has learned to
become more positive and more mature. He has also
received many awards in Citizenship, Academics and
Science.
Representing
the collegiate experience were Eric Guico and Mark Mora,
both from the University of California San Diego. Eric
Guico shared the difficulties in assimilating the
different facets of his culture as a student: the sense
of family and sense of community. He talked about
working on a project with other Filipino students, when
as a group they talked at elementary and high schools
and shared their experiences to the younger generation.
Eric is a 4th
year student at UCSD, Thurgood Marshall College, and is
majoring in the study of Religion.
Mark Mora is
a graduating senior at UCSD, Eleanor Roosevelt College,
with a B.S. in Communications. He talked about the
evolution of his life and shared his experience in being
one of the scriptwriters of Kaibigang Pilipino’s
Cultural Celebration, “The Death of a Revolution Within
a Glass Grip”. Kaibigang Pilpino is a UCSD
Filipino-American student organization. He strongly
advocated for the need for authentic cultural learning
in the American education system.
Edna Consing
Concepcion, a Chula Vista commissioner and OVOV core
team member, was mistress of ceremonies. Atty. Connie
Viado and Dr. Manny Sevilla rendered the National
Anthems of the U.S. and the Philippines. Atty. Viado
also sang ”Colors of the Wind” as an intermission
number, in honor of the diversity of the community. Dr.
Maria Lourdes Reyes, Founder and Facilitator of OVOV,
gave the welcome and closing remarks.
The
traditional “merienda”, afternoon snack, consisting of
pancit (noodles) pan de sal (sweet bread) and “kakanin”
(rice desserts) was served.
“The speakers
have been unique in their voices and their topics yet
there was a clear common thread - they were proud of the
accomplishments of their community and they were proud
of their heritage. Thank you for making this happen. All
of us have been enriched as a result.”, wrote Linda M.
Guzzo in a correspondence with OVOV, stating she watched
the program through WEBcam.
Last year, in
a historic move in the use of the city council as a
venue, OVOV presented twelve speakers on different
topics including: Philippine history, law, politics,
business, Filipino language, Culture and arts, education
and the military.
This
celebration was coordinated by the OVOV education and
service domain. The domain facilitators are Amethyst
Cureg, M.D. and Ceferina Ruiz, M.D.. Members include:
Arthur Cruz, Dr. Frank Dulin, Merly Ferrer, Jennifer
Patacsil-Esteybar, Sal Estrada, Michelle Mendoza,
Marilyn Mesina, Josie Robles and Allan Rubio.
OVOV is a
movement
dedicated to unifying and improving the Filipino-American
community through education, empowerment, advocacy and
service. The OVOV 2006 core team
include: Greg Alabado, Edna Concepcion, Amethyst
Cureg, M.D., Mimi Estrada, Sal Estrada, Marilyn Mesina,
Jennifer Patacsil-Esteybar, Vina Phelps, Maria Lourdes
Reyes, M.D., Joseph Roley-Arzaga, Ceferina Ruiz, M.D.
and Manny Sevilla, M.D.
Press release
by OVOV Media domain, www.ovov.org. Contact
619-988-2210.
Related photos located by
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