ShareThisMeeting in San Francisco for its 9th Empowerment Conference, members of the 13-year-old National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) elected new national officers and vowed to focus their efforts in the next two years on advocacy, voter participation, forging partnerships and rebuilding NaFFAA’s infrastructure.
NaFFAA’s EMERGING BIG 3 AT THE 9th NaFFAA EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE AT THE HYATT, SANFO NOV 18-20. The newly elected officers of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations raising their hands in victory. From left: Ed Navarra (MI), National Chair, JT Mallonga (NY), Vice Chair and Brendan Flores (LV), Youth National Chair. (Photo by Jon Melegrito)
Eduardo Navarra, 66, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan was elected national chairman, succeeding Greg Macabenta of San Francisco, Calif. A systems engineer with Ford Motor Company for 30 years, Navarra retired recently to devote his time to community service. He has served as chair of NaFFAA’s 8 MidWest region states for 8 years.
Also elected were JT Mallonga, 56, of Bloomfield, NJ as national vice chair; and Brendan Flores, 25, of Las Vegas NV as national youth chair. Mallonga is a New York practicing attorney and founder of the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF). He served as regional chair of the Eastern Region for four years. Flores is a business administration student at the University of Phoenix and a vice president at the Wells Fargo Bank. All three executive officers were voted into office unanimously.
Equal Partners. In his acceptance speech, Navarra vowed to strengthen NaFFAA’s political presence in the nation’s capital through active advocacy and coalition building. “While we will continue to address Philippine concerns, we will direct our collective energies towards issues that affect our community here in the U.S.,” he declared. “We will undertake these initiatives not as an umbrella organization but as an equal partner with other national formations and local groups that have a stake in protecting and promoting the interests of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in this country.”
Among the issues that NaFFAA will continue to be engaged in are comprehensive immigration reform and equity benefits for the spouses and widows of Filipino World War II veterans.
“We are grateful to our champions in Congress, like Sen. Daniel Inouye, Sen. Daniel Akaka, and Rep. Bob Filner for securing the long-awaited official recognition of our veterans and the one-time compensation,” he said. “But their widows, and their sons and daughters, also deserve a measure of justice.”
Looking towards the 2012 elections, Navarra stressed that Filipino voter participation is key to community empowerment. “We need to translate our numbers into political power,” Mallonga added. “This requires getting more eligible immigrants to be naturalized citizens, registered as voters and turning out in the polls.” The nationally-coordinated effort will be implemented through the FilVote program, in partnership with national coalitions and regional organizations.
The 3-day conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame, Calif. from Nov. 19-21. Among the highlights:
• State of NaFFAA Address (SONA. Outgoing National Chairman Greg Macabenta outlined NaFFAA’s achievements in the last two years – from the successful advocacy of Filipino veterans benefits to internal restructuring of the organization – and provided a sober assessment of the NaFFAA national office’s limited capacity.
• Intergenerational Leadership. The Conference theme, “Building the Next Generation of Community Advocates,” was designed to fully engage the delegates in the total experience of understanding and knowing how to implement the tools of advocacy. “We’ve completed a full cycle of leadership in NaFFAA’s first 12 years,” says Ben Menor, the conference chairman. “We’ve achieved our goal of igniting the flames of consciousness within our community. We’re on track for the next 12 years and beyond.” Panels led by young Pinoys and Pinays, included sessions on “Early Literacy,” “Mentorship,” “Bridging Our Generations,” “Empowerment in Health” and “Advocacy through Digital Media.”
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and NaFFAA. Representing the Philippine Government was Imelda Nicolas, CFO Chair, who signed the MOU with Navarra. It says in part: “We resolve to work together to initiate and undertake the implementation of projects and programs that promote the welfare of Filipinos in the US.”
• A Legacy of Pride. Delegates honored Filipino Americans who won elected office as city mayors, city council and school board members and state legislators. Special mention was made of the election of Tani Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice of California high court, Rob Bonta as Alameda City Council member, Kris Valderrama and Ron Villanueva as state legislators in Maryland and Virginia respectively; and Ohio Rep. Steve Austria, who was reelected to the U.S. Congress.
• Legislative Initiatives. Advocates for the Save Our Industries Act (S. 3170) urged delegates to lobby their US representatives to support the measure that would help the struggling textile manufacturing in the Philippines. Activists also asked help in pushing the DREAM Act, a bill that provides a pathway to legal status for undocumented youth brought to the US at a young age.
Close to 200 delegates from all over country attended the conference and listened to speakers including San Francisco Commissioner Dennis Normandy, Hollywood Actress May Flores, NaFFAA National Chair Emeritus Loida Nicolas Lewis, Philippine Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr., Hector Vargas and Rozita Lee, Commissioners on President’s Advisory Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islanders; NAFVE National Coordinator Ben de Guzman and Rodel Rodis of US Pinoys for Good Governance.
Rene “Butch” S. Meily, President of PLDT-Smart Foundation, a major sponsor of the conference, delivered the keynote speech at the “Isang Diwa” Gala Night program on “The Image of the Philippines in the U.S.”
In his farewell remarks, Macabenta thanked one of NaFFAA’s founders, Alex Esclamado, whose wife Luly accepted “The Order of the Carabao” Award. Macabenta also acknowledged the “hard work and dedication” of conference organizers Ben Menor and Baylan Megino, Online Coordinator Lorna Dietz and Region 8 Chair Jose Pecho.
The NaFFAA National Board will convene in Washington DC early next year to map out its 2-year plan. The 2012 empowerment conference will be held in Detroit, Michigan. Jon Melegrito is NaFFAA National Communications Director. Contact him at 202-361-0296, or e-mail jonmele@aol.com.