Filipino movies make waves in SF Bay Area theaters

 News
Apr 182013
 
Filipino movies make waves in SF Bay Area theaters

By Alex Drechsler INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 3:49 am | Friday, April 19th, 2013 MILPITAS, California—Filipinos thronged the April 12 opening-day of Star Cinema and Viva Film’s newest movie, “It Takes a Man and a Woman,” starring Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz. On opening day, the romantic film was shown in largest theater, which holds more than 400 seats. By the time previews started, the room was filled to capacity. Huge crowds surrounded the Century 20 Great Mall Theaters in Milpitas, the high demand to see the film resulting in nine showings scheduled per day during its screening course. While it takes a man like John Lloyd (playing Miggy), and a woman like Sarah, to fill up the theaters and create a major buzz in the Fil-Am community, Filipino films have generally gained popularity these past several years. In fact, mainstream theaters have been contacting Filipino companies to screen Tagalog films in their theaters. Currently, some 30 theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area show Filipino movies. To be sure, the massive crowd and line that extended out of the theater in Milpitas consisted mostly of loyal fans of Geronimo and Cruz. But something deeper is also at work. You can take the immigrant out of the Philippines, but not the Filipino from the immigrant. “Through the films brought to America, viewers are able to keep in touch with the actors and actresses, both newly rising and already established,” says Melissa Sokukawa. “We might not all stay updated with the Read More …

FilAms mark Bataan Day; vow to finish fight for WWII vets’ rights

 News
Apr 102013
 
FilAms mark Bataan Day; vow to finish fight for WWII vets’ rights

By Jon Melegrito INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau 4:25 am | Thursday, April 11th, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C.– Leaders of the Filipino American community in this city, Philippine Embassy officials, students and supporters of Filipino World War II veterans on Tuesday marked the 71st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan by pledging to continue the fight to negate the effects of the 1946 Rescission Act, which stripped Filipino soldiers of their official status as U.S. military veterans, Their immediate demand: recognize the claim of more than 24,000 surviving veterans whose service certifications have been rejected by the U.S. Army. A bill providing monetary compensation to eligible veterans was signed into law by Pres. Barack Obama in 2009. But of the 43,000 claims of surviving veterans who applied for benefits under the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) Act, only 18,615 were granted. “The Fall of Bataan is considered one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history,” said Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisa, Jr. “We recognize the injustice done to those who have been denied because of documentary requirements and we will continue to press the relevant US government officials to clarify the procedures in certifying claims and to assist our veterans who are appealing.” The embassy is calling on the Filipino American community to join a nationwide letter-writing campaign to the White House. “We want to bring attention to the injustice caused by the certification process,” Cuisa added. In response to public pressure, the White House six months ago formed an interagency task force Read More …

Bill to teach Filipinos’ role in labor movement advances in California

 News
Apr 022013
 
Bill to teach Filipinos’ role in labor movement advances in California

By Rene Ciria-Cruz INQUIRER.net US Bureau 12:18 pm | Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 SACRAMENTO, California—A bill requiring California public schools to instruct students on the contributions of Filipino Americans to the farm labor movement unanimously passed the Assembly Education Committee on March 20. AB 123 will now move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and, if successful, it will go to the floor for a full Assembly vote. Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), the bill’s sponsor, noted that Filipino Americans are the largest Asian population in California and continues to grow, yet the story of Filipinos’ “contributions to the farm labor movement is an untold part of California history.” The goal of AB 123 is to supplement California’s public school instruction on its “rich farm worker history,” explained Bonta, who is the first Filipino American to be elected to the State Legislature. Latino farm worker icon Dolores Huerta, who was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, stated that although she rarely had time to testify in support of legislation, she did not want to miss this historic opportunity to support AB 123. “The students of California need to learn that the sacrifices made by both the Filipino and Latino workers benefited all Californians,” she said. “AB 123 will ensure that the history is taught accurately.” Influential leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, are synonymous with California’s farm labor movement. Not well known is the historical fact that the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee–composed of first-generation Filipinos—led the 1965 Delano Grape Read More …

Works of FilAm Artist Alfonso Ossorio on Exhibit in D.C.

 Entertainment
Mar 112013
 
Works of FilAm Artist Alfonso Ossorio on Exhibit in D.C.

OSSORIO EXHIBIT. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. and his wife, Ma. Victoria, admire one of the artworks of Filipino American artist and patron Alfonso Ossorio (1916–1990) at The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. The private museum currently has on exhibit the abstract expressionist works of Ossorio, American painter Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), and French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985). Dubbed Angels, Demons, and Savages, the exhibit features 55 of their paintings and works on paper from 1945 to 1958. Photos also show the Ambassador with members of the University of Maryland Filipino Cultural Association and the Northern Virginia Rondalla who performed at the opening of the exhibit on Thusday. WASHINGTON, D.C.—The abstract expressionist works of noted Filipino-American artist and art patron Alfonso Ossorio (1916-1990) drew raves when they went on exhibit at a private museum here on Thursday. The Philippine Embassy, which collaborated with the Phillips Collection for its “Phillips After 5” event for the month of March, said almost 700 guests led by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and his wife, Ma. Victoria, attended the opening of the exhibit dubbed “Angels, Demons and Savages.” The exhibit features 55 paintings and works on paper of the Manila-born Ossorio and his equally famous artist-friends and contemporaries—American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1990) and French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985)—covering the period 1945 to 1958. OSSORIO EXHIBIT. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. and his wife, Ma. Victoria, admire one of the artworks of Filipino American artist and patron Alfonso Ossorio (1916–1990) at The Phillips Collection in Washington Read More …

In California, a push to highlight the Filipino story

 News
Feb 072013
 
In California, a push to highlight the Filipino story

Kuwento By Benjamin Pimentel 2:22 pm | Thursday, February 7th, 2013 Photo courtesy of Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s office. SAN FRANCISCO – It didn’t take long for it to become evident that finally having a Filipino in the California State Assembly would be a big deal for Filipinos in California and beyond. Just five weeks after being sworn in, Rob Bonta, California’s first Filipino-American assembly member, began working on a bill that would finally honor Filipino immigrants who, nearly a century ago, moved to the US to work as field hands in California, but went on to make history. Bonta’s bill would require California school districts to teach students about the contributions of such historic, but mostly forgotten, figures, as Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong, Pete Velasco and Carlos Bulosan. “As the first Filipino-American state legislator in the history of California, I have the opportunity to provide a voice for the Filipino-American community — a community whose contributions have been historically underemphasized in the story of our state,” he said. Now to be sure, the idea of highlighting the Filipinos’ incredible journey in California didn’t have to come from the state’s first Filipino-American legislator. In fact, Bonta had the work of other legislators, who were not Filipinos, to build on. Ten years ago, Assemblymember Pat Wiggins pushed a resolution that would recognize the contributions of Filipinos in the farm labor movement.  Five years later, in 2008, Assemblymember Warren Furutani moved for a formal state recognition of the contributions of Filipinos to Read More …

Aussie with ammo, Fil-Am with gun caught in Naia checks

 News
Jan 292013
 
Aussie with ammo, Fil-Am with gun caught in Naia checks

By Jodee A. Agoncillo Philippine Daily Inquirer 9:19 pm | Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines–An Australian national was caught with almost a hundred 9-mm bullets while a wheelchair-bound Filipino-American yielded a .22 cal. pistol in separate security checks at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on Tuesday. The Australian, identified as David Andrew Straoud, was scheduled to board Philippine Airlines flight 730 to Bangkok, Thailand, when 99 bullets were found in his backpack during a check through the X-ray machine around 8 a.m. at Naia Terminal 2. Straoud, a 42-year-old oil drilling engineer married to a Filipino woman, was placed under arrest by the Pasay police for illegal possession of ammunition and violation of the election gun ban. In an interview, Straoud claimed that the bullets were placed in the bag by mistake and that his wife Vina Vergara had a license for a 9-mm pistol, which he said she acquired for “self-defense.” About three hours earlier that morning, the bullets went undetected when Straoud flew to Naia from Silay Airport in Bacolod City, where his family is based. “Perhaps, they were still sleepy,” he said as to how security personnel missed the bullets at Silay. Later in the afternoon, Vergara and her son with Straoud immediately flew to Manila carrying the gun license and other pertinent documents. She was working on his bail amounting totaling P60,000 at press time. Also on Tuesday, Esmael Bulatao, a Filipino-American and polio sufferer who hails from Canan, Pangasinan Read More …

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