Immigration attorney Amanda Bernardo is NYC delegate to this year’s FYLPRO. Photo by Pineapple Industries

An immigration attorney, Bernardo is the chair of the Immigration Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and the Public Relations chair of the Filipino American Lawyers of New York. She recently collaborated with Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas to educate Filipino immigrants on their rights in the United States.

For her FYLPRO legacy project, she plans to launch a U.S.-wide “Know Your Rights and Resources” program for new Filipino immigrants.

The other FYLPRO delegates are:

Marjorie Baltazar (Chicago, IL). She is the Principal of Baltazar Global LLC, a business immigration law firm. Prior to launching her firm, Marjorie spent nearly 10 years practicing immigration with a large international law firm. She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States as an eight-year old. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago.

Ryan Dalusag (Laguna Niguel, CA). He was born and raised in California. He graduated from San Diego State University with a Masters in Social Work. Currently, Ryan is a clinical social worker on the Behavioral Health Unit at Mission Hospital. He currently serves as executive director for the Lakas Mentorship Program, as well as a Publicity and Outreach Committee member for Filipino Cultural School, both based in Southern California.

Eric John David (Anchorage, AK). He was born in the Philippines by Kapampangan and Tagalog parents, and grew up in Pasay, Las Piñas, Makati, and Alaska. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage (2002), and Master of Arts (2004) and Doctoral (2007) Degrees in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage and has published theoretical and empirical works on Internalized Oppression or Colonial Mentality, including Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino – American Postcolonial Psychology (Information Age Publishing). His most recent book is Internalized Oppression: The Psychology of Marginalized Groups (Springer Publishing).

FYLPRO’s 10 delegates for this year

Tyler Dos Santos-Tam (Honolulu, HI). He is the executive director of the Hawaii Construction Alliance, the organization which represents the state’s 15,000-member strong Carpenters, Laborers, Cement Masons, Bricklayers, and Operating Engineers unions. In this unique role, he brings together representatives from these unions to promote cooperation, collaboration, and coordination within the Hawaii’s construction industry. Tyler serves on the Neighborhood Commission, which oversees the City and County’s neighborhood board system, after being appointed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell and confirmed by the Honolulu City Council. He is a graduate of Punahou School and Yale University.

Rebecca Elmore (Guam). Raised on the island of Guam, she is a news anchor and reporter for the Pacific News Center for Sorensen Media Pacific Broadcast. She recently transferred from the University of Colorado Denver to the University of Guam to continue to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on diplomacy and law. You can catch her on the evening news every weeknight on ABC7 and Fox6.

Ireneo Reus III (Long Beach, CA). He founded The Reus Law Firm in 2005 and represents international and domestic clients in commercial litigation, employment law and corporate matters. He earned his J.D. degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2004, where he was a member of the UCLA Moot Court Honors Program and served as Senior Articles Editor for the UCLA Journal of Law & Technology. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Political Science, summa cum laude, from Whittier College in 2001.

Christal Simanski (Alexandria, VA). She is the current president of the Filipino Young Professionals Organization of Washington, D.C. Simanski is also an international affairs and trade specialist for the United States Government. She graduated from the University of Texas, Arlington, as Magna Cum Laude with bachelor degrees in political science and philosophy.

Ryann Tanap (Arlington, VA). She is a writer and advocate for suicide prevention and multicultural communities. She is the manager of Social Media and Digital Assets at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Her blog, Mama Tanap, explores mental health in society. She earned her BA in International Relations with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies from the College of William and Mary.

Ray Villanueva (Seattle, WA). He is an architect, educator, and aspiring builder. He is currently co-director of the Philippines Bamboo Workshop Study Abroad Program through the University of Washington Department of Architecture, which won the 2016 ACSA Design Build Award. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland with Summa Cum Laude honors and completed his Master of Architecture at the University of Washington.

© 2017 The FilAm

NEED TO IMPEACH. SIGN PETITION

Jhanice is president of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association. Here, she keynotes her organization’s recent Strategic Planning Session in Nashville.

This prestigious achievement is presented annually to carefully selected lawyers from bar associations across the state who, by virtue of their exemplary conduct, competence, diligence and demeanor, set a positive example for others. Domingo was presented with the award at the Commission’s Professionalism Awards Luncheon on November 9, at the Imperia in Somerset, New Jersey.

“We are thrilled, but not at all surprised, that Jhanice has been selected for the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award,” said Patricia M. Barbarito, Managing Partner at Einhorn Harris. “Jhanice’s professional work ethic and demeanor with her clients is at the forefront of her work each day and we are extremely proud that she is being recognized for it.”

As a Partner with Einhorn Harris’ Family Law Department, Domingo manages litigation of complex, high-asset divorce matters and mediation of low-conflict divorce cases. She navigates the legalities and sensitivities surrounding a variety of family law matters involving child custody, alimony, child support, equitable distribution, palimony, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, same-sex marriage and domestic violence.

Domingo was born in Manila, Philippines, and has resided in New Jersey since moving to the United States at the age of nine. She earned degrees in psychology and women’s studies from Boston College in 1999, and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2002.

Domingo is the president of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, Past President of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA-NJ), chair of APALA-NJ’s Judicial & Prosecutorial Appointments Committee and Vice President of the Legal Section of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce. She has served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Family Practice Committee since 2011, and is a member of the Somerset Community Action Program Board of Directors and the Korean American Family Service Center and its Benefit Committee.

In a 2013 article for New Jersey Lawyer magazine, Domingo decried the lack of diversity in the legal profession in her home state. She noted how in the history of New Jersey, there have only been “two Black and one Hispanic/Latino justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and no Asian Pacific American has ever served on our state’s highest court,” a clear case of “under-representation of minorities” in the courts.

“While there is a critical need to advance diversity in different sectors of our country’s legal profession, it is especially lacking in the courts and law firms of New Jersey, where Asian Pacific Americans, Blacks, and Hispanics/Latinos collectively represent 41.5 percent of the population,” she writes.

She maintained how a diverse bar “provides the necessary exchange of different opinions, perspectives, ideas, and experiences.”

“As attorneys, we are trained to look at all sides of an issue and all possible arguments and defenses in every case, because by doing so we can more effectively advocate for our clients,” she said.

© The FilAm 2017

Boating at the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London: ‘I frequently wondered whether I should become a doctor.’

In navigating the pathway to becoming an international tax & business lawyer, Edzyl Josef Magante’s taken the road less traveled: A Juris Doctor from Ateneo de Manila Law School, a Master of Laws in Corporate and Commercial Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) under a full British Chevening Scholarship, and finally, an LL.M. with a concentration in international law at Harvard Law School.

It was a road few took because they thought it was too ambitious and costly. His family looked at the expense the same way businessmen regarded investments.

“My father emphasized the value of a good education: It is the one thing nobody can deny you have. I held on to that belief and tried to be as educated as I could be,” he said when interviewed by The FilAm.

The British Chevening Scholarship — granted by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to extraordinary individuals with the potential to become leaders and decision makers — he worked his tail off to earn. The scholarship came when he occupied the high rank of Court Attorney VI in the office of then Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, who now serves as the Ombudsman of the Philippines. Today, Edzyl, a private attorney and law professor from Manila, has joined a California law firm as an international associate.

Edzyl was raised by his father, now deceased, and his father’s younger sister. His mother died from complications from a rheumatic heart disease when he was a young boy. His aunt raised him as her own child.

“I grew up in a household that allowed kids to just be kids,” he said.

Graduating from Harvard; Edzyl’s to the left.

Upon returning from the LSE, Edzyl hit the ground running as Associate Director at Ernst & Young Philippines and resumed teaching at Ateneo de Manila Law School. At Ernst & Young, he served as counsel to top Fortune 500 companies, advising them on the international tax and business law repercussions of their cross-border operations, acquisitions, foreign direct investments, and various other business deals. There, he was recognized as an Ernst & Young Visionary for his leadership and communication skills. He took a break from his flourishing law career to pursue his dream of studying at Harvard.

A California law firm, Roy Legal Group, Inc., spotted this skilled Harvard graduate and engaged him as an international associate. Edzyl now works with California attorneys, testing alternative theories in tax and business law in a multitude of contexts using comparative approaches to English, American, and Asian laws.

In the following interview, he discusses his journey from Manila to California, and what the future holds.

TF: Your late father was a government CPA. Was he your role model?
EJM: My older sister and I admired how he served in government and lived his life with integrity. He also showed us the enduring power of parental encouragement. Although he never put any pressure on us to be a certain way, he always made us feel we could be anything we wanted to be, with commitment and hard work.

At 1 year old with CPA father, Jose Magante, his role model.

TF: You’re such a super achiever. What were you like in high school?
EJM: You’re so kind to say that. At that age, I was freewheeling but safe; carefree yet anxious. I had a core group of friends with whom I went out regularly, even on weeknights after school. It was invariably clean fun though – movies, road trips, and child-safe clubs. Maybe back then, my family’s unquestioning trust in me only served to keep me guarded and safe. I thought that being allowed to make your own mistakes also meant that you would have to face your own troubles.
While I did not care much for my grades in high school, I was rather anxious inside about my future. I constantly debated what I really wanted to become. The idea of going to law school was already there, as my father incessantly intimated that he thought I had the aptitude for it. I frequently wondered, though, whether I should become a doctor.

TF: In college?
EJM: I fell in love with debating and was a varsity debater. I had the privilege of representing my university, the University of Santo Tomas, in national and international debate competitions. My team won a national debate championship in Manila and an Asia-wide debate in Bangkok, where I was adjudged Best Speaker of the championship match.

TF: How did Chevening happen?
EJM: I did my homework first, scouring all relevant websites and interviewing Chevening alumni, on top of augmenting my credentials to suit the scholarship’s criteria, which underscored past experience and future potential in leadership. When I felt ready, I applied for a Chevening award.

TF: What was it like being a graduate of both Harvard and LSE?
EJM: It felt surreal initially, as I never really expected to study at both universities during my lifetime. After each graduation, I felt that I was leaving a world-class institution a different person than when I entered. Both schools made me reflect deeply on the scope and influence of the legal profession worldwide, and how I would like to place myself in this vast reality. Now, being a Harvard and LSE alum feels like having a responsibility to embrace global citizenship and help build a borderless legal profession.

TF: What inspires you?
EJM: The idea that vision and hard work always pay off, and that life sometimes finds a way to reward you with something better than what you have set out to achieve.

© The FilAm 2017

With classmates at the London School of Economics.

She carries in her purse laminated photographs of her mother, Gloria Jean Ramiro. The FilAm Photo

Vice Consul Tanya Faye Ramiro used to visit NYC when her mother was working in the city. Now that she is Vice Consul at the Philippine Consulate, her mother is no longer around.

On December 5, 2014, Gloria Jean Ramiro – who worked as a private chef for an affluent family — was hit by a car as she crossed Third Avenue at 81st Street. She was alone; it was raining. She was 64 when she died. She passed away a year before Tanya was sworn in as a diplomat. Her children took the earliest flight to New York and went straight to Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Hospital. They kept vigil until she passed away three days later.

Tanya remembered one of her visits to New York with her siblings. Her mother acted like the savvy tour guide, showing them around Fifth Avenue and pointing to the Philippine Consulate building, “That’s the Philippine Embassy.”

At that time, Tanya was a lawyer not yet a diplomat. She never would have imagined that one day she would hold office in that building her mother had hilariously proclaimed was the equivalent of Malacanang in America!

She laughed softly, “That’s my mommy! She’s a very animated person.”

New York is her first foreign assignment and her ‘second home.’

It was one in a series of memories she shared about her mother with The FilAm in an interview one gray and windy January afternoon. Her mother she endearingly described as “loud, over the top, larger than life.”

Her alacrity dissolved into tears as she remembered how her mother worked as an OFW for almost 20 years to give her children the best education, and her family the comforts of life for them to enjoy. She may not be around as Tanya was coming of age, but through letters, texts, calls, and balikbayan boxes, it’s like she was home and the family was complete.

“She lived vicariously through her children’s accomplishments,” she said. “She dreamt big dreams.”

The bond between mother and her four children was enduring. Tanya and her siblings often visited NYC. Her mother would take them to touristy places like the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the Met, help them find shopping bargains, and treat them to the best restaurants. Most important, said Tanya, “She allowed us to dream.” She keeps her mother close by, carrying her laminated photos in her purse. As she pulled them out, a flood of emotions came over her. Tears rolled down. For several seconds, the interview stopped. We sat in silence.

“My mother had a strong influence over me,” said Tanya. “She kept up to date on our needs, our school work. She made an effort to learn technology, she opened Facebook Messenger, opened Viber, she wanted to stay connected.”

By wearing her late mother’s suits, Tanya keeps her memory alive.

Gloria and her husband Wilson, a retired lieutenant colonel of the PNP, made sure the children attended excellent schools. Tanya went to Maryknoll College for elementary and high school. At Ateneo de Manila, she majored in Psychology and earned a Juris Doctor Degree from the Ateneo School of Law. She graduated with honors in college and was a Dean’s lister in law school.

She became a diplomat in 2015, and already her first foreign assignment is New York. As a vice consul and a lawyer, she is the chief officer of the consular services section, the administrative officer, as well as assistant manager of the Philippine Center Management Board that oversees the operations of the Philippine Center building.

Only three months into her new assignment, she has been attending anniversaries of organizations, the Simbang Gabi at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and outreach services to neighboring states within the jurisdiction of the consulate.

“I don’t feel like a diplomat yet,” she smiled. “I’m still learning the ropes.”

© The FilAm 2018

Meet the new chief officer of the consular services section at the Philippine Consulate. The FilAm Photo

PIDCI President Antero Martinez, board member Joycelyn Aligarbes. Photos by Alex Drogeanu and RodElma Castillo

PIDCI President Antero ‘Ner’ Martinez voiced optimism the lawsuit filed by two organizations — United Mindoro International, Inc. and the Philippine Community Center Services for Aging – against the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. will result in better understanding within the community.

“We believe that both parties did what had to be done in order to foster understanding within the community,” he said in a statement issued to The FilAm.

He said the legal action will not distract PIDCI from still proceeding with plans to mount the Philippine Independence Day celebration in June with a parade along Madison Avenue.

“We still aim to have a memorable celebration of the commemoration of the declaration of Philippine Independence,” he said in a statement to The FilAm.

Said Martinez, “The parties came up with a stipulation to settle certain issues. The stipulation was agreed upon by the parties voluntarily and not something the court imposed on the parties.”

In the end, he said his hope is that all parties will “strive to ensure a successful commemoration of the declaration of Philippine Independence and promotion of Philippine culture and heritage.”

PIDCI board member Joycelyn Aligarbes echoed Martinez.

She said, “We need to focus on the coming Independence Day parade that we are celebrating this coming June,” adding her hope that “both parties can agree on what is good for the community and not what is good for certain groups or individuals.”

United Mindoro, led by Juliet Payabyab; and PCCSA, represented by Nieva Burdick, brought a case against PIDCI before the Supreme Court of New York. The first hearing, lasting three hours, was held in the morning of January 10. Petitioners are asking the court to compel PIDCI to respond to the following:
-produce annual reports from 2013 to 2016;
-open the financial books and records;
-nullify the results of the elections of Oct 7, 2017.

At the hearing, Justice Barbara Jaffe ordered PIDCI to “immediately hand over” its financial records, list of voting members, minutes of board meetings and other pertinent documents. The legal definition of the term “immediately” indicates a sense of urgency as in “at once” or “now,” meaning the deadline is a matter of days not weeks. A failure to comply with the court’s order constitutes contempt of court, said petitioners’ lawyer Lara Gregory.

Sought for comment, Payabyab stressed that “from the get-go, the lawsuit is about transparency and accountability.”

“When there is blatant lack of accountability and transparency as indicated by the lack of a PIDCI annual report since 2013, there should be no hesitation on our part to demand and compel it,” she said. “The order of the Judge is an affirmation of the rights of the members to transparent and accountable leadership.”

PIDCI is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the community whose members are organizations not individuals. Its mandate is to organize and mount the annual Independence Day Parade, a massive, colorful event that brings in tens of thousands of FilAms to Madison Avenue. Last year, PIDCI discovered that funds were missing, the amount believed to be anywhere from $200K to $300K. Its treasurer resigned over health reasons. An audit was conducted but PIDCI has not filed charges against anyone.

© The FilAm 2018

NEED TO IMPEACH

‘I wish I could say it was original.’ Photo by Rose Villazor

Riley Villazor, a 7th grade student at East Side Middle School on 91st Street, found herself engulfed by a sea of protesting women who marched on January 20 over issues such as violence against women, immigration, and wage gap.

She was with her mother Rose Villazor, a law professor, and her mother’s friends who came with their daughters. Riley’s placard attracted a lot of attention and caught the eye of Corey Johnson, the new Speaker of the New York City Council. It read: VOLDEMORT IS PRESIDENT, LET’S BE A NATION OF HERMIONES.

At the rally, marchers came up to Riley asking where she came up with the idea and if they could snap photos. She said the idea was inspired by online taunts that compare Donald Trump to Voldemort should he become President. She was surprised by all the attention. “It hasn’t happened before,” she chuckled.

“I wish I could say it was original,” said a thrilled Riley when interviewed by The FilAm at her home. “I just rewrote it.”

With Council Speaker Corey Johnson (far left) and Council Member Margaret Chin. Photo by NYC Council

Another eye-catching placard was carried by her friend. It read: GIRLS ROCK & RULE

New York-born Riley, a bubbly girl who plays the violin and acts in school musicals, said there were many issues she could see herself supporting, but stressed the importance of fighting sexism. She conceded it is not an issue she is confronted with right now, but she has seen so many women come forward with stories of how they endured sexual harassment in sports, in film, in the ordinary workplace.

Corey Johnson and his staff asked to be photographed with Riley and her placard. With them in the photo was Council Member Margaret Chin. The Speaker spoke to Riley, asking if this was her first time to join a rally. “Cool poster,” he said before parting.

Last Saturday’s protest march was not Riley’s first. She and her older sister Reese joined their mother at the first Women’s March last year. Reese couldn’t go this year because she was studying for her school finals.

The Villazors at home. From left, Rose, Reese, Riley and Rodney. The FilAm Photo

Riley and Reese — who is a year and seven months older — are the daughters of lawyers Rodney Villazor and law Professor Rose Cuison Villazor. Previously a federal prosecutor, Rodney has his private practice, Smith Villazor, LLP, where he represents companies and executives in white collar criminal cases. Rose teaches at the University of California-Davis and will be teaching at Rutgers School of Law in Newark in the Fall.

The sisters are active in school. (Reese is a freshman at Bronx High School for Science.) They do well in the classroom and still participate in extracurricular activities, such as the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA).

“We promote a safe community for the LGBT in school, we help raise funds for the AIDS Walk, we donate clothes and gift cards,” explained Riley on the kind of activities they do at GSA. The girls are somewhat exposed to LGBT issues because they have family friends who are gay.

In the Villazor household, the children are encouraged to express their opinions and, as could be expected when both your parents are lawyers, to defend them. The girls read a lot books, and they are now starting to appreciate non-fiction, said their father. Riley dove right into history with a book on the Vietnam War.

© The FilAm 2018

With older sister Reese. The FilAm Photo

Reginald and Loida and their daughters Leslie (left) and Christina when the family lived in Paris for five years.

The two met on a blind date some 20 years earlier. Loida was then an up-and-coming lawyer who had just passed the bar exams in the Philippines. Reginald was just another American lawyer and businessman. They were both smitten, instantly. When Reginald proposed to Loida, she shared in a 2010 interview with Kababayan L.A.’s Jannelle So, how she turned him down. “I cannot leave my country,” she told him then. But in her heart, she knew that “I’ll never meet a man like him again.”

When she got home, she phoned Reginald to say, “Darling I’m coming back.” With that, Loida left everything behind – a promising legal career and her father’s political ambitions for her. “I answered my heart,” she said. On August 16, 1969, the two married in the Philippines.

The WNET documentary, “Pioneers: Reginald F. Lewis and the Making of a Billion Dollar Empire,” chronicles the life and legacy of business pioneer, philanthropist and titan Reginald F. Lewis. He was the man Loida described as “special, more ambitious than I was, more visionary, more intense.”

A Harvard Law School graduate, who rose to prominence as a lawyer, venture capitalist, and leader of the global food company TLC Beatrice International, Lewis was the first American ever to close an overseas billion dollar leveraged buyout deal. He acquired an unprecedented global conglomerate of 64 companies in 31 countries, and paved the way for future entrepreneurs and black leaders through his life’s work until his untimely death at age 50.

Lewis hosted a fundraiser for the Rev. Jesse Jackson when he was a Democratic presidential candidate.

“Reginald Lewis is a pioneer because he executed a $1 billion buyout of Beatrice International Foods. No one had done anything of that size – black nor white. He’s the first American to do an overseas buyout,” said Loida in a press statement.

Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express noted, “There is no doubt that Reginald Lewis’ success paved the way for me, and many others, and I think that really is the test and demonstration of real leadership.”

The Baltimore-born Reginald F. Lewis is a business pioneer, human rights activist, philanthropist and titan who rose to prominence as a lawyer and venture capitalist, becoming the first American to close an overseas billion dollar leveraged buyout deal.

In 1993, Reginald passed away. Loida assumed the leadership as chairwoman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc., a multinational food company with operations across Europe. She continues to carry on the philanthropic work of her husband as the chair of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation.

Discover the legacy and celebrate the 30th anniversary of Reginald F. Lewis’ historic billion dollar. “Pioneers: Reginald F. Lewis and the Making of a Billion Dollar Empire” will have a television premier on these PBS affiliates:

Friday, February 16, 8:00pm WLIW21
Sunday, February 18, 7:30pm THIRTEEN
Saturday, February 24, 7:00pm NJTV

© The FilAm 2018

DINGDONG DANTES

A hundred percent batting average since she opened her law office. The FilAm Photo

By Cristina DC Pastor

In 2009, Licelle Cobrador found herself at a crossroads: Should she return to New York to pursue a legal career or should she stay in the Philippines to become mayor of Dao, Capiz and challenge the entrenched dynasty?

Nine years seemed so far removed, but Licelle likes to look back at a time when her options seemed too stark, too urgent, and too incredibly hilarious not to include in her colorful narrative.

“Judy Roxas wanted me to run,” she shared in an interview with The FilAm at her Long Island City office. “You have to understand, Judy Roxas was a strong power broker.” (Roxas is the mother of 2016 Philippine presidential candidate Mar Roxas, who would lose the election to Rodrigo Duterte. The Roxases are kingpins in the Liberal Party.)

Licelle’s name must have appeared on Roxas’s radar when she took over as chief political affairs officer for her father Cesar Cobrador, who was a partylist congressman for the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines. The fact that she had “New York experience” – just like Mar Roxas – may have made her a relatable person to Judy Roxas.

“I said no,” she recalled saying. She also told Roxas she came home only because her father had a stroke and she wanted to organize his legislative office. “I didn’t even speak Ilonggo,” she said, not holding back on her guffaws.

At her sister Marie Cristine’s wedding. Licelle at far left, with her parents Cesar and Ma. Luisa and her sister Marie Claudine.

Also, she was beginning to miss New York after barely a month at home.

Licelle chose to return, worked for Bhatta Law & Associates, and after seven years, opened her private practice Cobrador & Associates, PLLC. As an attorney, she handles immigration, business transactions, real estate, litigation, intellectual property and entertainment law. Her immigration cases are mostly employment-based petitions or self-petitions, her client artists, actors, filmmakers, singers, composers, journalists, multimedia creatives, events and public relations specialists, top businessmen, athletes and individuals with “extraordinary ability” in their fields.

“I haven’t had any denials,” she said, touting 100 percent success rate in her current practice. She is vice president and executive director for the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund or FALDEF.

Chatty as a child
She was raised on books and stacks of Encyclopedia Britannica. Her mother, Ma. Luisa, would use the ruse that the TV cabinet was broken and that they could not have television for the night. Licelle’s attention was drawn to reading.

“I became obsessed with books,” she said. “But I was also madaldal.”

With her legal director, Mampi Ghosh, an ‘extraordinary ability’ broadcast journalist from Nepal.

It was her mother who encouraged her – with some amount of nudging– to take up Law.

“She inspired and brainwashed me,” laughed Licelle, the oldest of three siblings, all girls. In school, she was urged to join declamation contests and debates. “She wanted to be a lawyer herself.”

With a degree in Development Studies from U.P. Manila, she took up Law at Ateneo University. After passing the Philippine Bar, she became an associate at Rodrigo, Berenguer & Guno focusing on litigation and corporate law. During weekends, she taught Political Science and Development Studies electives at U.P. Manila. On a Dean’s Merit Scholarship, she finished her master’s degree in Intellectual Property at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on Fifth Avenue. She is the current co-chair of the Cardozo Law Masters Alumni Committee.

After Cardozo, she returned to Manila because her father suffered a stroke. She took over his legislative affairs, checking on his PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) only to be dismayed with the inner workings of Congress.

It was during this time that she had that interesting encounter with Judy Roxas.

Cobrador name
Her father passed away in 2016, a man she greatly admired and revered. She remembered how he used to tease her not to get married until the Cobrador name is enshrined in the Philippine Roll of Attorneys, a list of all lawyers licensed to practice.

“He wanted to see the name there, and didn’t even want to see any hyphen,” she said, smiling.

Well, if her dad could see her NYC office now.

© The FilAm 2018

Graduating from the Cardozo School of Law, with her beaming family.

A joyous mood during the May 30 PIDCI community meeting. Photos by John Alberto

The Supreme Court of the State of New York dismissed on May 29 the case against PIDCI, a decision that was received with muted rejoicing by officers of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. during their recent community meeting.

While the decision of Justice Barbara Jaffe appeared to be a victory for PIDCI, it did not rule on the merits of the complaint filed in December 2017 by petitioners Juliet Payabyab of United Mindoro International, Inc. and Nieva Burdick of the Philippine Community Center Services for Aging. The judge said that “petitioners failed to exhaust the internal administrative remedies for resolving grievances” and therefore “this proceeding is premature and the petition is dismissed.”

The judge cited a Not-for-Profit Corporation Law stating that corporation by-laws usually provide a Grievance and Dispute Resolution Committee that receives and settles complaints. PIDCI has such mechanism in its by-laws but it was not used fully by the petitioners to resolve its complaints.

The petitioners went to court to compel PIDCI to:

-produce annual reports from 2013 to 2016;
-open the financial books and records;
-nullify the results of the elections of Oct 7, 2017

The court decision did not discuss the merits of each charge, but only ruled on the procedural requirements it said the petitioners did not comply with.

PIDCI President Antero ‘Ner’ Martinez (right) and Vice President Rely Manacay

Giovanni Alo, counsel for the petitioners, said in a statement, “The decision on the election does not come as a surprise because the main focus of the petitioners has always been accountability and transparency and the fact that the court practically ordered PIDCI to produce the financial records is to us already a vindication of the petitioners,” he said.

Some leaders of PIDCI said they expected the court to rule in their favor. In previous lawsuits, they said the decision has always been for members to resolve their differences among themselves. “You are one community, dapat mag-uusap-usap kayo. This is more of the same,” one of them said.

PIDCI was gladdened by the decision because it was issued less than a week before the June 3 Independence Day parade on Madison Avenue, thus buoying up the spirit of its supporters.

The FilAm learned that petitioners are meeting to plan their next steps. Filing a motion for reconsideration or a rehearing and appealing the decision are legal mechanisms open to them, and they want to make clear to the community the court decision “is not the end for us.”

In the meantime, the case of PIDCI’s missing funds remains an open secret. It is unclear how the organization will deal with this alleged theft following the Jaffe decision.

In a press conference a week earlier, lawyer Manuel Quintal has said PIDCI has not yet filed charges against a former official who resigned for health reasons after funds were reported missing. There are many factors to consider in filing a case, he said.

“It’s not just a matter of trying to file it and in the end you don’t get anything,” he said. “You just wasted money filing it and paying for those expenses. There are factors we should consider. Anong mangyayari pag nagfile ka? Anong mga gastos ang dapat mong bayaran? Anong mangyayari sakaling ikaw ay manalo? Makaka kolekata ka ba? Yung mga bagay na yon ay dapat iniisip natin, bago tayo mag-file ng kaso.”

Of the decision, Quintal told The FilAm the case has been “laid to rest by the court.”

“Let us give the parties peace and time to reflect on their respective actions. Meanwhile, let us join and enjoy all the forthcoming events in celebration of what is good in our Filipino culture and ancestry,” he said.

© The FilAm 2018

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Philippine flags fly proudly during Independence Day parade.

By Marivir R. Montebon & Cristina DC Pastor

Despite its accountability and transparency issues, PIDCI has continued to make it appear to potential sponsors who advertise in the souvenir program that their donations would be tax-exempt. In May 2018, a month before the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration, its advertising form carried a note that said: “All donations are tax-deductible to the extent provided by U.S. law.”

A check with the Internal Revenue Service website found that PIDCI is no longer tax-exempt as of February 15, 2016 for failure to file its Form 990 return or notice for three consecutive years, starting in 2013.

There is a gap between narratives of people involved in the fundraising activities and PIDCI’s very own unaudited financial reports. Mrs. Kalayaan 2015 Rosita Mejia Richman, for instance, revealed that she personally raised $54,000 but in PIDCI’s 2015 report, Mrs. Kalayaan reported only $3,590 in gross income.

A dismal state of finances and reporting?
From its unaudited financial reports, PIDCI revealed that it spent more than what it earned, at least for 2014 and 2015.

Based on the narratives of those who have contributed to its finances, it has no system of recording and control of inflow and outflow of enormous incomes.

The general ledgers of PIDCI for the period 2013, 2014, and 2015 show PIDCI’s net income for 2013 at $68,384.81; for 2014, it suffered a loss of $28,534.29; and for 2015, another loss of $18,438.70. These unaudited documents were obtained from financial statements submitted to petitioners United Mindoro International and the Philippine Community Center Services for the Aging on orders of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in January 2018.

Summary of Income and Expenses
Year Income Expenses Net/Loss
2013 363,655.75 295,270.94 68,384.81
2014 388,911.62 417,445.91 (28,534.29)
2015 287,870.58 306,309.28 (18,438.70)

The years 2013 to 2015 was the time when PIDCI failed to file its Form 990 (the return for an organization that is exempt from income tax) with the IRS, thus resulting in the revocation of its 501 (C) (3) status. This was under the presidency of Fe Martinez, who led PIDCI for four consecutive terms.

How does PIDCI earn money?
In order to realize the annual Independence Day parade on Madison Avenue, PIDCI undertakes several programs to raise funds. The Grand Marshals are key to the raising of such funds. They are well-positioned and well-respected members of the Filipino community and can use their influence to mobilize financial resources for the parade. In 2013, the Grand Marshal was Dr. Dolly Rivera, followed by Drs. Emilio and Felicisima Quines in 2014, and Atty. Reuben Seguritan in 2015.

The sources of income of PIDCI include its journal or Souvenir Program, the Mrs. Kalayaan fundraiser, Diwa ng Kalayaan fundraiser, ConGen Night fundraiser, corporate sponsors, and the Cultural Festival which earns from booth rentals of food vendors, fees from parade contingents and floats on the day of the parade itself.

Grand Marshals, from left: Dr. Dolly Rivera, 2013; Drs. Emilio and Felicisima Quines, 2014; and Atty. Reuben Seguritan, 2015.

According to a former PIDCI director, only the Sponsorship Committee receives donations. During the years in question, the committee was composed of then treasurer Violeta McGough and president Fe Martinez. The director, who spoke on condition that he remain unnamed, said no one would have found out how monies came in and out of the coffers, because all the directors were busy with the tedious tasks they were assigned in preparation for the parade and other festivities. “We were all focused on our committees. Receiving of funds, which were mostly in cash, and disbursements were done by the Sponsorship Committee,” he revealed.

Suspicious 2013-2015 General Ledgers
Accounting experts sought for this report opined that general ledgers are not reliable sources of finance reports because they can be generated in the computers, through QuickBooks, for instance. General ledgers have to be substantiated by actual receipts and vouchers to make them reliable. Even then, receipts and vouchers can also be fabricated in order to create a semblance of order which is quite a common practice.

Additionally, each of PIDCI’s fundraising program does not have a systematic recording of income and expenses. Not all incoming monies are receipted and therefore it is uncertain whether these were recorded — according to the program they belong — and deposited in the bank.

A case in point is the Mrs. Kalayaan fundraiser. Candidates mobilize funds from the support of food vendors and corporate sponsors during the Cultural Parade and Festival. It also generates income for the journal through greeting advertisements. However, for the record, there is no cross-referencing what fundraising programs did the Mrs. Kalayaan candidates place the money they have gathered.

IRS revocation of PIDCI’s tax-exempt status.

Mrs. Kalayaan FilAm 2014 Ruth Sityar echoed Rafael. She said she raised $36,400 for PIDCI and got no receipt.

Both Sityar and Rafael said, in two separate interviews, they were not issued receipts for these contributions. They also revealed that during the final counting and proclamation of Mrs. Kalayaan in 2014, the committee counted individual candidates’ cash and checks contributions in a public setting!

But after each counting, there had been no public announcement made as to how much each candidate raised, and there was no overall reporting of the total contributions made by the nine titlists. Hence, no one really knows, not even the fundraising ladies, how much total monies were mobilized during the final counting, except the Mrs. Kalayaan committee members in 2014.

Rafael and Sityar alone would have a combined contribution of $76,400 for PIDCI in 2014. But from its annual unaudited report in 2014, the entire income from Mrs. Kalayaan was recorded at $48,666.

How about the income from the seven other Mrs. Kalayaan titlists, aside from Rafael and Sityar? Where did it go? How were they recorded? The General Ledger for 2014 does not reflect it.

This report sought comments from current PIDCI President Antero Martinez and lawyer Manuel Quintal but got no response as of publication time.

Next: Staggering pay-to-cash disbursements

© The FilAm 2018

PIDCI officers and supporters. Photo by Boyet Loverita

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Mrs. Kalayaan 2013 Rose Labelle is crowned by Grand Marshal Dr. Dolly Rivera (left) and former Consul General Tess Dizon-De Vega.

The 2013-2015 general ledgers contain items that are blatantly questionable, according to financial professionals who reviewed them. Some of these are:

1. In 2013, a staggering expenditure of unspecified materials and supplies worth $36,665.44 was reported; In 2014, unspecified materials and supplies reached $44,529.41; In 2015, it was recorded at $27,969.99.
2. In 2013, temporary help expense reached $15,277; In 2014, it was $14,176.91; and in 2015, it reached $10,332.
3. In 2013, meetings reached $5937.67 and meals at $2955.33.
4. In 2014, unspecified donations/contributions were classified as expense and reflected at $50,095.00; In 2013, donations/contributions were only $249.97; In 2015, donations were only $764.16.
5. Business permits in 2013 were recorded at $28,675.38 but only $5,619.24 in 2014; In 2015, $10,678.24 was the total expenses for business permits.
6. Disbursements of huge amounts of cash (Pay to cash) for meals for 2013-2015.
Examples: On June 12, 2014 meals at New Barbecue Place paid to cash at $600.
On Jan. 1, 2015, large amount of meals paid to cash: $618.39+646+568+420+misc $302=$2554.39 all paid to cash;
7. Pay to Cash disbursements for Temporary Help
On May 31, 2013 Pay to cash $4500, $2500, $1000
8. Pay to Cash for General Services
On June 8, 2015, temporary help was paid to cash at $2500, $1000, $1000, $500 = $5000
9. Pay to Cash Materials and Supplies
May 31, 2013 $880
June 1, 2013 $700
10. Other Pay-to-cash transactions:
May 31, 2013 Cash paid to Bands and Performers $1000
Oct. 8, 2013 Cash paid to Emerald Society Bands and Performers $1500
May 8, 2014 Pay to cash Department of Sanitation $4872.00
July 2, 2014 Pay to cash Renaissance Hotel $2000 and $1000
Aug. 4 2015 Pay to cash Miscellaneous $500
11. Consulting fees to Steve and Christian Estrellado, sons of board member Raul Estrellado at $900 from 2013-2015;
12. On January 28, 2013. Fe Caliolio (who is also Fe Martinez) was paid $1500 under unspecified materials and supplies.
13. Regular release of funds to Vivian Velasco at most $200 per month.
14. Judeline Sion paid $2400 on June 1, 2015 and $800 on June 10, 2015.
15. Jan. 1, 2015 Paid to Margie Wisotsky $195 for materials and supplies and non-cash awards $1000. June 1, 2013, temporary help paid to Daniel Wisotsky $4000.
16. June 28, 2013 Grants payable to Rolando David $2336.00.

Our report raises some questions: Was it a board decision to allow huge pay-to-cash disbursements?

In non-profit organizations, former and current officers are generally prohibited from employing members of their family for whatever services due to conflict of interest. But why were there disbursements made to the sons of long-time board member Raul Estrellado, the husband of former board member Margie Wisotsky, Roland David, the partner of Fe Martinez; volunteer Vivian Velasco, etc?

The Souvenir Program
In 2015, a community leader gave $600 cash to then treasurer Violeta McGough as an advertising sponsorship for a school and her personal business. She was not given a receipt and did not get a copy of the souvenir program.

“I was so ashamed because I could not present anything to the school as a major sponsor. I tried to get my copy but the treasurer is gone and the president kept forgetting to bring me a copy,” she said sharing her story for this report.

Income from the souvenir program is $500 for a full color page in gold paper; a full spread (2 pages) earns $300; a full page earns $125 and half page earns $85 in greeting advertisements. In the ledgers, there is no specific indication of incomes derived from the souvenir program sponsorships.

Street Fair Vendors
The vendors during the street fair every first Sunday of June are the biggest income generators for PIDCI, said a former PIDCI officer.

In 2014, the vendors pulled in $135,885.00 in gross revenues for PIDCI while in 2015, gross income was reported at $127,800.50 in PIDCI’s unaudited report.

Mrs. Kalayaan 2014 Joji Rafael

Fundraising Queens
The Mrs. Kalayaan fundraiser is not a beauty or brains contest, but essentially a competition to raise the highest amount of money in order to be crowned Mrs. Kalayaan. Literally, one has to buy her crown and sash to be able to get the title.

For 2015, Mrs. Kalayaan Rosita Mejia Richman said she raised more than $54,000 but on its 2015 report, Mrs. Kalayaan reported only $3590.00 in gross income.

These staggering contributions from the efforts of the crowned beauty queens were not reflected in PIDCI’s financial records, pointing to the fact that certain amount of monies could have been unreported.

Another beauty queen, who requested that she remain unnamed, said she got no receipt, when she handed her cash.

“The PIDCI organizers had told us to remit the money we raise for the grand ball or souvenir programs in cash especially when the parade was getting closer. They prefer to receive cash,” she said.

She realized later that, “I know it has been a stupid kind of fundraiser. I will never do it again.”

Can PIDCI clean itself?
Before the 2017 elections, community leaders, especially those who were once PIDCI volunteers, have voiced out ways to clean up PIDCI. In fact, some thought that the financial reports must be produced and its organization be systematized, hence a moratorium on elections.

Ledy Almadin, a community leader and accountant, said that, “Not-for-profit organizations, especially charitable organizations, whose governing body, most of the time, are the board members and executive officers, have the fiduciary responsibility to its members and public to manage its organization with transparency. All funds in these organizations are solicited from the public and so its finances should be reported to the public in a timely manner.”

Almadin added that the governing body has the responsibility to allocate the donations according to its mission and follow all IRS and state guidelines for its operations and filing requirements. “Failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years and lose its 501 (C) (3) for a very active organization is a failure in fulfilling its fiduciary duties.”

For the issue on transparency, Lumen Castaneda, founding chair of the teacher’s organization UNIFFIED and who used to be an active PIDCI director, said PIDCI should abolish the proxy ballot and “let legitimate organizations come and vote for themselves to avoid the issuance of proxy votes.” She opined that PIDCI could consider electronic voting to avoid the existing proxy system and counting would be swift and efficient.

Former Diwa ng Kalayaan committee chair Engr. Danilo Pagsambugan wrote to www.justcliqit.com: “That organization must be managed for transparency, accountability to each deliverables, otherwise, everything is gone to waste.” He alluded to “self-interest thus leading to marred elections every year by paid memberships, proxies.”

A former PIDCI director seeking anonymity said that PIDCI elections must have a fully impartial Comelec which should come from the community at large. At present, the Comelec is a member of the PIDCI board. He added the proxy voting system must be eliminated.

Mrs. Kalayaan Filam 2014 Ruth Sityar echoed Castaneda and Pagsambugan in her suggestion to change the proxy voting system. She also asked for transparency in finances by presenting to the public an itemized accounting of all finances contributed to PIDCI.

Mrs. Kalayaan 2013 Rose Labelle asked that PIDCI make the courtesy of inviting past titleholders like her to its Mrs. Kalayaan and similar gigs. “We have made great contributions to raise funds for PIDCI. The least they could do is to invite us for their events,” she said.

Quiet observers in the Filipino community opined that PIDCI has become a “private business for those running it” although it is a public organization engaged in the largest Philippine cultural activity outside Philippine territory.

“Our culture of corruption sucks and it hurts us all. One organization will eventually end up being a private property of one or a few leaders. I’ve seen that naturally happening within our community,” said one local entertainment entrepreneur.

Incumbent president Antero Martinez, during a forum sponsored by the Fil-Am Press Club of New York in October 2017, promised to make PIDCI transparent in his term. His presidency is ending in October. It is not known what changes have been instituted. PIDCI has not replied to repeated requests for comments for this report.

Back to the missing PIDCI funds. Did a PIDCI official run away with the funds? Or was it a scapegoat plan to cover up many years of financial mismanagement? The community deserves an answer.

© The FilAm 2018

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Four-term President Fe Martinez (far left) and former treasurer Violeta McGough, wearing a yellow terno with officers and supporters of PIDCI.

By Cristina DC Pastor & Marivir Montebon

As we were poring over several reams of financial documents, ledgers and minutes of board meetings – over several weeks — we came across numerous items that raised some red flags. One of them is an item in the ledger showing a former Grand Marshal making a contribution in the amount of $10,000 — $5000 from him and another $5000 from his son.

When contacted, the Grand Marshal said it was more. During his term, he was able to mobilize about $70,000 in contributions for the Independence Day parade during his time, with resources coming from his own pocket, his friends, more than 60 pages of advertising in the journal, and a full-packed Grand Marshal Ball of 450 people.

That amount was not reflected in the ledger.

Another item shows a “lifelong volunteer” appearing to have received a $200 monthly fee from PIDCI. We asked her if this was true.

She said, “All I can say for now is it seems I have been clearly violated, improperly taken advantage of and a victim of (ex-official’s) crime!!!”

It was not the former treasurer who prepared the ledgers. It appears in the document that they were prepared by Roland David, identified as Assistant Secretary of PIDCI.

She added: “Due to the sensitivity of any PIDCI matter I cannot comment on this shocking, appalling ‘fake news,’” said the “lifelong volunteer.”

She called our series “fake news.”

The “lifelong volunteer” said she will consult a lawyer before speaking further.

It is unfortunate that PIDCI chose not to speak for this report. In our emails requesting for an interview, or at least to respond to a set of questions, we said we wanted to present a report that is balanced and well-rounded, and this could be achieved if both sides would be heard.

Many in the community sent private emails with more interesting observations about PIDCI and the way the organization is run. We also received encouraging comments.

“Amazing work,” said one professional.

“Look at where the community is now, more people are coming out, the beauty queens have spoken, the Consulate is asking questions. I believe that if you get the biggest organization to adhere to good governance, others would follow,” she said.

Businesswoman Mita Quiogue said electoral fraud, election manipulation, or vote rigging is illegal.

“I can’t believe we have it here during the PIDCI elections. I know somebody who allowed herself to be used for this kind of fraud.”

Traveling nurse May Durano said, “The Consulate should be actively pursuing this mess. It is an embarrassment that we bring this ‘corrupt’ system to the U.S., and they think they can get away with it.”

Ludi Hughes of the Filipino American Festival, Inc. of Bergen County, said, “Only credible leaders should run this organization, people who are in good standing in the community. PIDCI is not a cash cow, not a place to make money. It is a community organization and cannot be a business. Once it becomes a business, then the Philippine Consulate should step up and cut the relationship.”

© The FilAm 2018

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At her Prospect Park home she shares with eight dogs. Meet rescue dog Snowflake who hogged the photo shoot. The FilAm Photo

In the late 1990s, way before the #MeToo Movement, lawyer Elizabeth Cueva worked for the City University of New York’s Office of Compliance and Diversity.

As the director assigned in Kingsborough Community College-CUNY, she led a panel that investigated all sorts of sex-related incidents in the college involving students, faculty, college officials and employees, and visitors. At the time, recalled Elizabeth, the issue of sexual harassment was a “burgeoning field” with rapidly evolving jurisprudence.

Elizabeth thought then that because of the work they, and others in Academia did – conducting training, explaining liabilities, disseminating information, addressing and resolving cases etc. — they have created an environment of “heightened awareness” to keep the campus a respectful place.

While sexual harassment was in people’s consciousness, they did not dominate news headlines as they do now. Except for non-traditional milieus, like entertainment and politics, little was heard of these cases after the Clinton years. Because of the “he said, she said” nature of the charges, some cases were either getting dismissed for lack of evidence, or settled quietly.

But something happened in 2014.

An avalanche of accusations, from sexual misconduct to rape, from an estimated 60 women came barreling down on Bill Cosby. Similar charges would topple Harvey Weinstein from where he reigned in Hollywood (80 women), and other prominent, powerful men.

“I was flabbergasted with the wave of the #Metoo Movement,” said Elizabeth over a plate of Pad Thai one lazy Saturday at Talde’s. “I thought then OK, there is already heightened awareness. People were becoming aware that an unwelcome touch or inappropriate sexual remark or gesture could be a form of sexual harassment. There were fewer complaints, people were more conscious of their actions and of treating individuals with respect.” But evidently, a lot of these cases have remained unreported and sexual misconduct continued over the years.

Elizabeth closely followed the confirmation hearings of then Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, shocked at how the issue of sexual harassment has become so colossal and coercive, that allegations dating back more than 30 years could hinder a person’s prospect at being named to the Supreme Court. She has come to realize that notwithstanding relentless awareness campaigns, the issue remained “alive, contentious and polarizing.” Women are “emboldened” to come out now unlike before when there was “reticence” among some of them.

Strong women
Elizabeth is the youngest of three Cueva girls. She grew up in Manila in a family filled with strong-willed women and men supportive of them.

The Cueva sisters, from left: Cecilia, Elizabeth, and Clarissa.

Up until she was 3 years old, she was raised by her grandmother, Felicidad. From her ‘lola’ she learned independence. She was not doted on and was given much leeway tempered with discipline from which she developed a strong and independent character. Then, her grandmother left for the U.S.

“I remember crying at the airport, as in making a scene,” she recalled. “Coming back (from the airport), I was told you can go back home now. So, I walked to our house by myself, knocked on the door and walked back in.” She shared this account with an air of light-hearted nonchalance like it was the most natural thing in the world for a young girl to move back in with her family.

She spoke with equal tenderness about her mother, Gloria, who gave constant reminders to her and sisters, Clarissa and Cecilia, about how women should be treated. Even at a young age, they were not shielded from harsh realities and made aware that girls (and also boys) should not be touched inappropriately. Not by strangers, not by relatives or any member of the family. Little did she know they were being schooled on sexual harassment prevention by their mother.

“My mom would discuss it with us,” she said. “It was shocking to hear but she would say things like, don’t trust anybody not even your relatives or never be in situations where you can be taken advantage of. We had that awareness.” By being blunt about these matters, her mother, in fact, sheltered them.

Her older sisters were role models in a way. Clarissa, the first-born, was always top in class, while Cecilia, the middle sibling, was the smartest about finances, “always the one with money.”

“We were three different personalities, but we were always together during our formative years,” she said.

Young lawyer
As a young lawyer, Elizabeth would follow her family to Brooklyn in the 1990s, in Park Slope was where her grandparents and her parents had settled in comfortably.

“It wasn’t a conscious thing, coming here,” she began.

She was a working student, studying law in UP Diliman and working as a technical assistant and judicial intern of Supreme Court Chief Justice Marcelo B. Fernan. Then, she became a project and legal evaluation officer in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under former Secretary Fulgencio Factoran.

After graduating in UP Law, she briefly worked as a corporate and environmental lawyer in the Philippines. She realized though that to be a lawyer of note in the country, one also needs to have ‘connections’ even for the simplest acts of filing incorporation papers with the SEC or appearing before administrative tribunals. The appeal of coming to the U.S. became stronger.

She “started from scratch” when she came to New York. She worked as a Paralegal for an immigration law firm, took and passed the New York State Bar, and completed her Executive Master’s Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations in Baruch College, graduating with honors. She found her way around NYC’s labor and human rights fields via the New York State Attorney General’s Office, CUNY’s Compliance and Diversity Office, NY State’s Department of Health and Department of Labor, all the way to the NY State Division of Human Rights, where she currently works as a lawyer and Human Rights Specialist.

“When I was with the Attorney General’s office, I was doing prison litigation,” she said. “I was always in the areas of human rights, civil rights and social justice so my career path opened up to those areas. While I had stints in private practice, I would always end up in public service.”

As a labor and employment lawyer, sexual harassment stories in the news continue to fascinate Elizabeth. She marvels at the courage of the women who reported what happened to them. Not many do for shame, cultural and other reasons, but as a lawyer, she stressed the importance of letting others know and letting them know right away.

“We always encourage people to report because then we are made aware of a pattern of behavior. Even if there’s no corroborative evidence, a pattern of reported prior incidents makes the case stronger,” she pointed out.

She believes that rule of law is paramount when looking at cases, and can spell the difference whether a victim is to be believed or not, gets justice or not.

© The FilAm 2018

Elizabeth receiving a community award, enjoying the Manhattan skyline at dusk, and relaxing on a Hudson River cruise.

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Trans advocate Chelle Lhuillier: ‘I feel like I am reborn.’

The new year signals a fresh start to some: New house, new job, new life goals. To Chelle Lhuillier, a transgender advocate, January 2019 is when her new name and new gender marker will become official.

“Time to put that old ‘me’ in a treasure vault — safe and protected. Here I am, a new ‘me,’” she said speaking to The FilAm in a phone interview.

Born male in Quezon City in the Philippines, this former Montessori teacher came to the U.S. about 15 years ago. She began using the name Chelle Lhuillier on social media. It became her sort of alias. She is known as Chelle Lhuillier to friends, to fellow activists in the Human Rights Campaign, on Facebook, and in all kinds of public spaces where people acknowledge her transness. However, her public documents — such as birth certificate, passport, photo ID, etc. — continue to show the original name her parents had given her.

“It can be annoying, confusing, and embarrassing when you have a mismatched name and gender,” she said. Especially when she is confronted about it in a very public and intrusive way.

A name change finally declared ‘Chelle’ her official first name. Her surname remains her parents.’ By January 2019, she will be known as:

NAME: Chelle LM (combining her chosen name and her parents’ surnames)
SEX: F

“Feels like I am reborn,” she laughed.

Her first name Chelle is now official, according to this certified court document.

The process to change one’s birth name appears to be a short and seamless one. She signed up for the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund’s (TLDEF) Name Change Project, and was accorded pro bono legal assistance. She and nine other trans folks — ranging in age from teens to 50s — were part of the project and received assistance from two to three lawyers.

The process took about four months, from the time she filled out an intake form on the TLDEF website all the way till she received her certified court order showing approval of her new name. The most challenging and possibly most time-consuming part is the vetting, according to Chelle. “They want to make sure you are not changing your name because you’re running from the law,” she said.

A judge with the New York City Civil Court approved the name change petition and provided her a copy of the court order. The court order became final only after it has been published in a newspaper within 60 days after the court appearance.

“Publishing the court order ad is a requirement before the final certified copy of the court order will be released to the petitioner,” she said.

Chelle hurdled all stages of the process with the assistance of her lawyers from Reed Smith LLP, a top law firm in Manhattan. The attorney assigned to her was a dynamic woman named Tsedey Bogale.

“Both me and the lawyer went to the court for the hearing,” she said. “I felt very at ease.”

To match the name change with a new gender marker requires a separate petition. She will present, with her request, a medical certification verifying her transition.

Chelle has been contemplating a change of name for a long time, but was not sure if it applied only to U.S. citizens. It was when she signed up with TLDEF’s Name Change Project that she learned she qualified, being a legal permanent resident or green card holder.

In January, the first document she will update with her new name and sex marker is the IDNYC, the ID card for all New York residents. With all her personal data aligned, she felt “relieved and free.”

“It’s hard to have a mismatched ID, especially when looking for jobs. It becomes a deterrent. Now I can look for a job, and have a career,” she said. “It will be a new ‘me’ in this coming New Year. It’s like a dream come true.”

© The FilAm 2018

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Lawyer Erick Soriano. He was known for representing several nonprofit organizations pro bono.

They died as a result of a family dispute, which is currently under investigation. Both were laid to rest in Christ the King Columbarium in Quezon City on December 27.

Erick and Felicito were born in Manila, Philippines, but were U.S. citizens. They were among 12 children of Mariano Soriano and Mercedes Castor, also from Manila. Erick was 59 and Felicito was 72.

According to an Inquirer report, the U.S. citizen brothers were shot by an older brother Nilo, 77, over a dispute on the ownership of their house, which he later allegedly set on fire. It appears that Nilo, a retired maintenance engineer, lives in the Philippines. He has been arrested.

The Inquirer report quoting the police states that, “(suspect) Soriano ‘mercilessly shot’ his younger brothers, Felicito, a 72-year-old businessman, and Enrico, a 60-year-old lawyer, whose scorched remains were discovered by police operatives after firefighters had put out the flames…According to the (Eastern Police District) EPD, Soriano ‘threatened to kill his brothers due to a dispute in the ownership of their house’ while the three were having breakfast on Friday.”

A housemaid was the lone witness. “(She) told the police that before she fled outside the house, she saw Soriano pouring gallons of gas on his dead brothers’ bodies,” adds the report.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic news,” FilVetREP Chairman Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret) said. “We convey our deepest condolences to the Soriano family. FilVetREP respects the family’s privacy during this very sad time, especially that Erick and Felicito’s deaths happened during the holidays. Please include the Soriano family in your thoughts and prayers.”

FilVetREP – or the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project – is the organization that campaigned that Filipino veterans of World War II be honored with Congressional Gold Medals in recognition of their service. In October, or after a year-long campaign, surviving veterans received their medals.

A published bio states that Erick Soriano was a partner in the D.C. office of Garvey Schubert Barer. Before that, he served in senior capacities with several of the nation’s largest and most reputable law firms, including Reed Smith, Kelley Drye & Warren, and Fleischman and Harding (now Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge).

In addition to his private practice, Erick represents several national nonprofit organizations pro bono. He is a member of several bars and voluntary bar associations.
Erick obtained his J.D. from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University in 1991 where he was, among other things, Editor-in-Chief of the International and Comparative Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. He also has an M.A. in Communications from the University of Oklahoma.

Plans are underway for a memorial service in January 2019 to honor and celebrate Erick and Felicito’s lives. Both brothers have many friends across the country and especially in the Washington D.C. area, according to a statement from FilVetREP.

To send your sympathies for Erick and Felicito, please address them to Ms. Priscilla Sutherland c/o Ms. Margaret Lacson-Ecarma, 2116 South Columbus Street, Arlington, VA 22206.

© The FilAm 2019

Merit with daughter Abigail, the youngest of three siblings. Photos courtesy of Sajara Gonzalez

Emerito Flores Salud was known in the Filipino-American community as a devoted and patriotic community leader, lawyer, and advocate. He worked tirelessly on various initiatives governed by different associations, including the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and Filipino American Legal Defense & Education Fund (FALDEF).

He loomed large, and he lent his voice to those who could not speak for themselves. He loved his beloved Philippines unwaveringly, even after he immigrated to the United States in 1992. In the company of others, he spoke his mind freely, not one to mince words, and he stood firmly behind the principles for which he championed. He offered counsel, encouragement and support to people he knew, whether brief acquaintances or long-time friends.

In many ways, his public persona didn’t differ much from the role he played as the head of our family. He loved his family resolutely, he was principled in his disciplined parenting, and he continuously gave us counsel, encouragement and support.

Dad was a proud family man. He promoted family history and traditions through telling and re-telling of stories from days of old. His family experienced the turning wheel of fortune, from having great wealth to having barely enough. As difficult as times may have sometimes been in his youth, he only spoke of his experiences with his family with pride and love. When he got together with his siblings, the rest of us often joked that they told the same stories so many times, even we could finish the stories for them. They laughed at the same jokes and chimed in on the same tales. They stayed up until the early morning hours, only to repeat the scene the next day and the day after that until it was again time to part ways.

La Familia Salud on Facebook: From left, children Emeritus, Sajara and Abigail; and wife Norma.

Despite being the youngest boy of 12 siblings, only second youngest to my aunt, Dad was a father figure, not just to me and my siblings, but also to many of my cousins in the Philippines whose parents had passed away. He tried to keep the family together by hosting family get-togethers and reunions. When there was a family problem, relatives from the Philippines would call him for advice and assistance. Whenever we had a problem or an issue, he always had a solution; he knew the right things to say and the right things to do. He encouraged and promoted education among all of us, rewarding with tokens of appreciation those who had graduated from school. He believed that completing our education was the biggest stepping stone we could give ourselves to achieve personal success. Dad was so proud of each of us when we graduated from college.

He had little tolerance for self-pity and for laziness. My siblings and I worked on various domestic projects, on some of them working long after the sun had gone down (and we had to use spotlights to complete our work). He wanted things done right the first time around. At the time, it seemed extreme. Looking back, this became the basis of our work ethic, which is steadfast no matter how challenging a task may be. We are not afraid of hard work and of difficult times, because we know we have what it takes to get any job done.

As tough as Dad was on us on certain aspects of life, he was also warm-hearted and generous with his affection and praise. I grew up with an abundance of displayed affection – hugs, kisses, high-fives and pats on the head, shoulder, or hands were the norm. He would tell us he loved us, sometimes out of nowhere, stating it so matter-of-factly, he could have been observing the time of day or the weather. He celebrated our successes, big or small. The attention felt embarrassing at times and occasionally it seemed unwarranted, but now, I see that he was simply proud of us. He was so proud, he couldn’t keep it a secret, and he just had to share it with others.
Dad was always larger than life, and his death leaves a big void that cannot be filled. He may be known to most as a community leader, but to us, he will always be Dad.

Abigail Salud is the daughter of recently deceased NaFFAA leader Emerito ‘Merit’ Salud and Norma Salud nee Aquino. She is the youngest of three siblings, namely Emeritus and Sajara. She lives in the UK where she works in corporate giving for a pharmaceutical company.

Attorney Merit Salud passed away in the Philippines on December 17th at 12:36 p.m. His remains were cremated and brought to New Jersey where his family is based.

© The FilAm 2019

With his grandchildren: A proud family man

Joe Sayas Jr. holds a press conference after the court reached a $2-million settlement in a police brutality case where the victim is a mentally disabled Filipino man.

L.A. lawyer Joe Sayas, Jr. has rendered more than a quarter of a century of service, championing the cause of the working class. Described as “the voice of Filipinos in U.S. courtrooms,” he was recently awarded the 2018 Presidential Awards bestowed in Malacañang on 25 “outstanding” overseas Filipinos and foreign-based organizations.

“A litigation attorney straight out of a John Grisham novel…who champions the rights of the underprivileged and the minorities, and served as the voice of Filipinos in U.S. courtrooms.” That’s Joe the way Philippine officialdom saw him.

One does not speak of Joe without mention of the massive amount of settlement he has recovered for his clients, close to $125 million.

Those intangible facets of Joe’s adherence to the rule of law have zeroed in on his efforts in fearlessly challenging corporate violations.

As the lead counsel in one of the most recognized class action suits that had long questioned the employee status for some 500 truck drivers, Joe challenged the companies’ business practice in classifying drivers as independent contractors in the Long Beach/Los Angeles and Oakland ports in the state of California.

Photo by Ding Carreon

Sparked by his own convictions, as he continued to be faced by the ever-lengthy claims sought by the same group of drivers, he won and obtained a federal court judgment for the workers: A ruling that they are indeed employees as a matter of law. It was a landmark case in the trucking industry.

More pluses resulted in establishing a major precedent in the legal right to address changes. It did not just put a halt to some firms’ well-known efforts in deducting fuel and insurance costs from drivers. That change was key to the occupational status which made it possible for the drivers to work in “collective negotiation” for key benefits that had never, never come their way at all.

One victorious plus mattered: The drivers obtained health insurance benefits not solely for themselves, but their families as well. The winning workers likewise received retirement benefits, paid medical and vacation leaves, pay for each hour when work was rendered, and above all, in securing the protection due them from the Workers Compensation, as defined by law.

Another striking achievement garnered by Joe Sayas’s legal team was the recovery of $11,040.000.00, an amount that represents the highest class action settlement in the history of port trucking.

Pluses through more legal action came through when some port companies followed defendants. They shared how victory came among other pursuits by employees who were coming from other sources of employment: nurses; technicians; salespersons; couriers; security guards; including those employed in offices, hospitals, aerospace, supermarkets, laboratories, restaurants and warehouse facilities.

Joe’s legal crusade continues for those invoking their civil rights. He and his team, very recently, won a $2-million recovery for the family of a mentally disabled man who was brutally killed by a police officer.

Despite all his outstanding victories Joe continues his crusade on behalf of immigrant workers who have survived mercilessly labor human trafficking, including employees who were unlawfully discriminated due to their disability, race, national origin or gender.

A long-time jurist was asked what he thought of Joe Sayas. He did not hesitate to say how Lawyer Sayas is proud of his academic background as an alumnus of the University of the Philippines’ College of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center. He underscored how Joe practices his profession as a true Filipino inspired by the values of his ancestral homeland.

He is the veritable pride of Filipino Americans who do their civic work as they respond affirmatively to the call of community life in a nation away from their birthplace.

© The FilAm 2019

In 2017, he donated $10,000 to the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) to support a campaign to educate workers, especially the undocumented who need to be aware they too have rights.

By Maricar CP Hampton

Lawyers of Filipino ethnicity are a drop in the bucket, so to speak, comprising less than 2 percent of more than a million lawyers in the U.S. While we know some of them to be immigration or personal injury attorneys, or to work in legal departments, a rare few like Camille M. Ng practice international arbitration.

The Manila-born Camille, 36, is Deputy Counsel at the North American Case Management Team of the International Court of Arbitration (Court) of the International Chamber of Commerce. She is the only Filipino at the ICC, the world’s largest business organization  representing more than 45 million companies around the world. She assists the Court in managing disputes between rival organizations, among other roles, keeping in mind the ICC’s founding philosophy of “promoting peace through trade.”

“We are a non-profit,” she said. “To promote peace and to do good business generally, you need a dispute resolution mechanism. In the event of a dispute, say, over contracts, some parties may agree to choose arbitration over litigation, where in some cases they may be able to save on costs and time.”

International arbitration, she said further, “can be a great alternative to the court system.”

“Right now, I’m in charge of around 50 cases, and this is on the low end,” said Camille, a frequent speaker on ICC matters as well as other topics in international arbitration.

She was Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) based in The Hague when the ICC job opened up.  She had a phone interview in The Hague and then hopped on a train for a three-hour trip to Paris for her second interview. She got the post. She has been with the ICC for close to four years now.

At The Hague, she co-authored two journal articles on the PCA that were published in the Hague Yearbook of International Law in 2012 and 2013. She’s especially proud of those articles not only because they marked the PCA’s first contribution to the Hague Yearbook of International Law but also because they were co-authored with one of her best friends.

John Grisham’s “The Client”, which she read in grade school, may have sparked a budding interest in the legal profession. Camille graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School in Indiana in 2008. She also has an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the National University of Singapore, and an LL.M. in Global Business Law from New York University. Looking back, she recalled the constant debating she did as a Management student at the Ateneo de Manila University plus frequent appearances before the Philippine Advertising Board as an account executive as experiences that may have sharpened her skills at communicating and reasoning.

“It was always something I thought I could do,” she said. “I realized that law might be a possible career path for me.”

Being Filipino, she said she brings a unique mindset to her position. “My experience helps me relate to parties who come from different backgrounds and legal traditions.”

Camille is the eldest of four siblings. Her father is a banker, and her mother worked as an officer at San Miguel Corporation. She enjoys going out with friends where always there is “great conversation, lots of laughing, and good food.” The Met and Central Park are NYC places she frequents for some quiet time.

Fun fact

Camille has this unusual knack for rhyming. She could be a rapper if her crisp words had a beat to them. Making words rhyme, as if in a limerick, is something that comes naturally. She recalled with amused embarrassment how her mind wandered into rhyming while she was drafting a serious agenda for a Court session.

The mood hasn’t struck

You guys are out of luck

Says the duck with a buck

With an eagle on one side

And Jefferson on the other

And I’ll end this now, so I won’t be a bother

Back to work we quack

Duck

“Just playful, silly words,” she said.

By Cristina DC Pastor

Back when he was a police officer, Edward Carrasco was putting bad guys away. Now, after 22 years with the NYPD, he has jumped the tracks and is on a different career path. He is now a lawyer who, at some point, may wind up possibly defending some of the bad guys.

Carrasco, who retired in 2017 with the rank of Deputy Inspector, recently opened his private law practice in Midtown, and is taking on clients in New York and New Jersey. About 75 percent of his clients are Filipinos.

The irony is not lost on Carrasco, the highest ranking Filipino American in the history of the NYPD.

“Attorneys are allowed to refuse cases where there is a conflict of interest or for other reasons. I would not take a case unless I know that I would be able to defend my client 100 percent,” he said when asked if he could end up defending violators of the law.

Carrasco grew up in Vinzons, Camarines Norte where his family spoke Tagalog instead of the Bicol language. The son of a nurse, he came to New York as a teen and studied at Saint Francis College in Brooklyn, graduating cum laude. He went home to Manila for a year after college to work in marketing before coming back to NYC to become a police officer. He earned his Master of Arts in 1999 from CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

At the NYPD, he started out doing various patrol, investigative, and administrative assignments. For two years from 2006, he became an Executive Officer for the 23rd Precinct in Manhattan, where he designed the Robbery Reduction Initiative which cut the crime by 23 percent. He became Commanding Officer for the School Safety Division in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island public schools until 2009.

He took a one-year leave and went to Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he earned his Master’s in Public Administration in 2010. On his return to the NYPD, he was placed as the Commanding Officer of the Office of Management Analysis and Planning’s Special Projects Unit—the policy arm of the police department. There, he oversaw a staff that included attorneys.

“It was then that I began to seriously consider law school,” he said.

He started law studies at CUNY School of Law during his last two years in the police department, completing his final year and legal clinics after retirement.

In the following Q-A, Carrasco responded to The FilAm’s questions.

The FilAm (TF): Tell us about your transition from law enforcement to lawyering.

Edward Carrasco (EC): The transition seemed like a natural one for me. Part of a police officer’s job is to investigate, find witnesses, and help find solutions to people’s problems. It’s typically not different from being a lawyer, where you are presented with varying problems and your job is to help find a solution.

TF: Isn’t retirement typically a time to slow down and travel the world? What made you decide to try an intense, demanding career?

EC: I don’t believe in retirement. I don’t believe in all work and no play, either. I’m the type of person who has to keep active—physically and mentally—and not having meaningful work would get boring rather quickly. The key is finding a balance. Despite my work I still make time for travel, family, and friends.

TF: What was your first case?

EC: I worked in a law firm for a year as part of my legal clinic, prior to graduation. I had the opportunity to learn trial skills from a very well-regarded lawyer. The first case I worked on was a high-profile case that, unfortunately, I cannot discuss because of client confidentiality.  

TF: You are now on a different side of the law. At some point you will be defending suspects even if you know they may have committed a felony. Isn’t that weird?

EC: Not really. The system does not allow conviction unless the accused has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Each individual accused of a crime is entitled to a competent, vigorous defense.

TF: Do you have a law office, partners?  

EC: I have a small office in Midtown, Manhattan, but I can meet clients anywhere. Most of the time I am in Queens, but I have travelled upstate and N.J. to meet with clients. Although I work by myself, I am affiliated with a number of lawyers. I like having a network of lawyers that I can call on to help assist me with cases or for me to refer clients to. The most successful cases I’ve worked on involved collaboration from a number of people with varying experience.

TF: Theoretically, the people you put behind bars…can they hire you as their lawyer?

EC: If it is a case I directly worked on, I would decline taking on the client as that would likely be a conflict of interest.  

TF: Doesn’t being an ex-cop give you an advantage because you are familiar with the court system, the judges, etc.?

EC: It does to some degree—especially in regard to investigations and police procedure. However, there is no substitute for actual legal experience.

TF: What are your ex-colleagues saying about your new career?

EC: My former colleagues are very supportive of my new career. A few of them have even referred their friends and family to me.

© The FilAm 2019

By Cristina Dc Pastor

Mina Malik, the daughter of a nurse from the Philippines and a South Asian father, is running for the position of Queens District Attorney. Growing up in Queens, she was attacked outside of her school and was hospitalized for a week.

The daughter of immigrants and raised in the working-class communities of Corona and Elmhurst, she said she wanted early on to get involved in criminal justice.

“I wanted to give voice to the voiceless,” she told a gathering of the Ilocano Association of America, Inc. on June 1. She became an attorney, a prosecutor and law professor, driven, she stressed, toward restoring fairness in the criminal justice system.

“There are seven candidates in this race. Every candidate has talked about criminal justice reform but no one has done it except for me,” said Malik, a former Queens Assistant District Attorney and Special Victims prosecutor for nearly a decade. In that role, she has worked toward prosecuting human traffickers, serial rapists, child molesters and violent, repeat offenders.

“While working as a Special Victims prosecutor, I worked with countless people who were survivors of sexual abuse and assault. I am adamantly committed to ensuring that the Queens District Attorney’s Office protects survivors, plays an active role in their healing, and prioritizes not retraumatizing them,” she said.
 
She most recently served as Deputy Attorney General in the District of Columbia. She was previously Special Counsel to Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.

Malik said her parents came to the U.S. in the early 1970s by way of her mother’s profession as a registered nurse.

“My mother actually had the opportunity and the pathway,” she told the Ilocano association. She was offered a job in New York as a nurse. She was born in  Tayum, Abra, an Ilocano-speaking province in the northern Philippines. “She came here with my father and me and nothing but a hundred dollars in her pockets. She is one of nine siblings.”

In the U.S., she said her mother  made sure that she learned the culture  of the Philippines “even though we were not in the Philippines.”

“To this day, she still lives in the same house in Elmhurst,” Malik continued. “To this day, she still instills in me a strong work ethic making sure that I respect God, and thank him for all things and making sure that I give back to our community because we always have to reach back and help others and those that we have left behind. I have 21 first cousins. A lot of them are still back in the Philippines because they couldn’t get a visa to come here.”

Her father, who is of Pakistani ethnicity,  worked as a machine worker. She takes pride in being the daughter of union workers.

She shared with writer Marilyn Abalos how  she was assaulted outside of her school. According to Malik, language barrier and a general lack of knowledge on how to work with the police or judicial system allowed her attackers to get away.

“She has the experience,” said Abalos. “One of the reforms she plans to introduce is to hire translators and make sure that people know how the justice system can help them. I believe she would be able to serve the large population of Queens and work with the over 300 attorneys in the Queens DA office.”

Jan Andrada, who listened to Malik speak before the Ilocano association, said the candidate is “very smart and very well experienced.”

The last time Queens elected a District Attorney was in 1971. Richard Brown, who served for 28 years —  the longest in Queens history —  passed away in May. The Democratic Primary is on June 25.

© The FilAm 2019