VIRTUAL REALITY: The Liwayway-Oishi story: 27 factories in eight countries (Pt. 2)

 From Tony Lopez

(In today’s column I am running the second part of the text of Liwayway Marketing CEO Larry Chan’s presentation before President Aquino and his official delegation during the presidential visit at the sprawling Liwayway factory complex in Shanghai, China, Sept. 2, 2011.)

BEING able to build a positive reputation in China has also allowed us to purchase 70 percent of a retail company in Shanghai with about 30 store locations in the city. It is called Lao Tong Sheng, a retailer of traditional Chinese products such as mushrooms, nuts, etc. Our Chinese partner is a district level state-owned company that chose us when they were privatizing some of their enterprises. We believe this is because of the successful partnerships we have had in the past and these state-owned enterprises still prefer to look for partners they can be comfortable with.
A star enterprise
We have also been consecutively awarded as one of the 100 Star Overseas Chinese Enterprises by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Central Government. This Office is a ministerial level department of the government with the main purpose of servicing and promoting linkages among the overseas Chinese around the world.
Aside from providing assistance in investments opportunities, they also help resolve any issues faced by the business. They also provide assistance in non-business matters such as cultural exposures, networking, education, or helping overseas Chinese get to know more about their roots in China.
According to one information we received, more than 70 percent of China’s foreign direct investments come from overseas Chinese investors.
Tapping emerging markets
My father’s focus when he entered China, Vietnam and Myanmar in the late ‘90s was to tap the emerging markets while they are still in their early stages. Being early poses its challenges as the infrastructures are still undeveloped, but in the example of Vietnam, we started in Ho Chi Minh by building a factory inside the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park.
This proved to be crucial as the management of the industrial park was able to provide valuable support while we were still trying to learn the local landscape. Now our Vietnam operations have expanded to four factories, with one in Hanoi, a second factory in the same industrial park in Ho Chi Minh, and a fourth one located in Danang located in central Vietnam.
Thailand and Indonesian markets are much more challenging markets because they are much more developed, but these are important markets to us as well.
Today, we feel that India and Cambodia are the young emerging markets similar to Vietnam in the 90s.
Philippine operations
Our Philippine operations remain very active with recent expansions in Cagayan and Cebu in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Just this year we also started operations in our Tarlac factory. The Philippines remains a very good consumer market for us with the highest consumption rate of our products among the countries we are presently in.
Our factory in Cavite also provides critical support to all our factories by manufacturing and supplying many of our machineries that are built to our specifications. We appreciate the talent and passion of our engineers towards learning new things and quality workmanship.
Supplies for our group’s exports to markets where we do not have factories all come from the
Philippines. In our case, the Philippines has several significant advantages, such as the numerous consolidators in our country making export of low value products like ours much more efficient.
Another advantage is the English packaging we use in the Philippines, which eliminates the need for us to make modifications when serving the export markets.
These are some of the limited experiences we have had as we continue to explore opportunities within Asia.

STREET TALK: MACARTHUR’S A-DAY

From Greg Macabenta

To many Americans and Europeans, D-Day, the 6th of June, is of major importance in world history – important enough to bring to the continent droves of tourists, mainly veterans of World War II who fought in the European theater, and their families. It was on that day in 1944 when allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy on the way to liberating Europe from the Nazis.
 It was in that context that I suggested to Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, on my recent visit to Manila, that October 20 be viewed as an opportunity for tourism promotion. It was on that day in 1944 when U.S. forces, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte to start the liberation of the Philippines.
To veterans of the war in the Pacific, that day is as significant as D-Day. In fact, for families of the thousands of U.S. and allied soldiers buried in the American cemetery in the former Fort Bonifacio, and those who fought in Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte and the many war fronts across the archipelago, October 20 should inspire an annual sentimental journey to the Philippines – similar to that one made by Gen. MacArthur and his wife, Jean, in 1961.
 To MacArthur, October 20 was A-Day or Attack-Day. The day he would make good on his solemn vow, “I shall return!”
This fact would have been buried in the landfill of history had Filipino-American Rudy Ascercion not accidentally discovered a letter of an American sailor to his sweetheart, telling her, “Tomorrow is A-Day.”
 Asercion is executive director of a San Francisco non-profit, the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, and a commissioner of the Veterans War Memorial Commission. He was rummaging through the archives of the Commission when he came upon the sailor’s letter.
 Intrigued, Asercion dug further and confirmed from records that A-Day was MacArthur’s code name for the start of the liberation of the Philippines.
Asercion didn’t stop there. He brought this to the attention of the White House, with the support of Yolanda Stern, President Emerita of the Federation of Filipino-American Chambers of Commerce, and Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret.), the FilAm general who blew the lid off the U.S. Army human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Acknowledging that A-Day was an occasion that merited honors, Pres. George W. Bush issued a proclamation to that effect. On October 20, 2004, the first official commemoration of A-Day in America was held at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Bldg. in San Francisco. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, graced the occasion, along with officers of the American Legion, Philippine consular officials and FilAm community leaders.
Asercion, Taguba and Stern did not stop at this decidedly significant achievement. That same year, they lobbied for the California legislature to pass a bill that would include in the social science curriculum of the state’s Department of Education the vital role played by Filipino soldiers in World War II. Recognition of this role was pivotal in the granting of benefits to Filipino veterans by the U.S. Congress and the Obama presidency – a role denied by the Rescission Act of 1946.
Unfortunately, despite positive action by the state legislature, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given our veterans the recognition due them.
 Unfazed, Asercion, Taguba, Stern and a more empowered FilAm community, including KAYA, a youth group that actively helped in the Obama presidential campaign, lobbied the current legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. They finally succeeded.
 Last October 8, Brown signed AB 199, co-authored by Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Paul Cook, that urges the inclusion of Filipino World War II veterans in the 7-12 public high school curriculum in California.
According to Asercion, California is one of three states authorized to print textbooks for use in schools across the U.S. This could mean that the inclusion of Filipino veterans in textbooks used in the state will result in their inclusion in social studies in schools all over the country.
 Like the Energizer bunny, Asercion just keeps going and going and going. To commemorate A-Day this year, he arranged for a luncheon in honor of 12 surviving Filipino veterans. Held at the War Memorial Building, the old soldiers and their wives had community leaders waiting on them.
 Donning waiters’ aprons were Carmen Colet, president of the San Francisco FilAm Chamber of Commerce; Rodel Rodis, president of U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance and former president of the San Francisco Community College Board, and Yolanda Stern. I also volunteered to play waiter at the event.
Gen. Taguba, who resides in the Washington DC area, could not make it to the luncheon. But he continues to plug for Filipino veterans in his current key position in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 Also unable to attend was Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma who was expected to announce, with Rodis, Stern and Asercion, the proposed curriculum mandated by AB-199.
 The curriculum will include personal testimonies of Filipino veterans recorded on audio and videotapes, as well as historical records that Asercion has doggedly exhumed from the archives of the Commission. At the luncheon, several old soldiers were videotaped relating their war experiences.
For a number of reasons, the observance of A-Day this year was not be as high-profile or as impressive as the first one held in 2004. It’s easy to point out why this is so. Blame is so much easier to identify.
But the fact is that Rudy Asercion, Gen. Tony Taguba and Yolanda Stern have lighted an ember that continues to glow, despite community apathy. It just deserves to be fanned more vigorously, indeed, more creatively. The good news is that, at Seasons' Marketplace in Milipitas, Ben Menor and other South Bay community leaders also scheduled a commemoration of A-Day on Sunday, October 23.
Like the annual Filipino festivals that I also pointed out to Mon Jimenez as presenting rich opportunities to promote the Philippines and Philippine tourism, the ember of A-Day and AB-199 can be made to burst into flame.
We hope that more zealous and caring individuals will step up to fan the ember and help dispel the darkness of our anonymity in America and in the rest of the world.
(gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

FROM THE CAPITOL: Prevailing Wages on Workers

From Sen. Leland Yee

Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law legislation to ensure workers receive prevailing wages on energy service contracts of public agencies.  Senate Bill 136, which I authored and itroduced, closes a loophole that allowed work to be done without prevailing wage on public infrastructure projects offered at so-called “no cost” by Energy Service Companies (ESCOs).
Typically, an ESCO conducts an audit in order to come up with a design to generate energy efficiency or develop energy on a public facility. Upon approval by the public agency, the ESCO typically pays for the design, construction management, and commission of the project with the understanding that whatever savings are realized from the project are then used to pay back the ESCO.
For example, if a school district can save $10,000 a year by installing energy efficient lighting and windows, the ESCO would front the cost of that upgrade, but the school district would transfer the savings to the ESCO for a fixed time period.
  Despite the fact that the work is being completed on public infrastructure and will be paid back from energy savings that otherwise would have been utilized by the public agency, some have argued that such work is exempt from the prevailing wage requirements.  SB 136 removes any doubt that prevailing wage must and should be paid on these types of public infrastructure improvements. This bill will ensure all public projects are completed using prevailing wage for workers.
While I am pleased the Governor signed the prevailing wage bill, it is very disappointing that he didn’t ensure corporations keep their promises.  SB 364 is critical to holding big businesses accountable for job creation promises in exchange for any tax breaks.
Specifically, SB 364 would have required all future tax breaks related to job creation to have clear goals and performance measures. If a corporation failed to meet those promises, the state could recoup the tax credit.
A working mother on CalWORKS or disabled senior receiving in-home supportive services has to jump through numerous bureaucratic hoops to receive minimal life-sustaining benefits, but if you are a big corporation looking for scarce tax credits, no one asks any questions.  California taxpayers deserve better.
Tax expenditures for corporations are often created with the argument that they will create jobs and fuel economic development. Yet under existing law, it is nearly impossible to track which companies are receiving tax credits and if those subsidies are meeting the goals of the expenditure. Corporations are even permitted to take taxpayer money and relocate to other states.
It is wrong for California to provide upwards of $14 billion in corporate tax credits without transparency and accountability.   If a business fails to keep its word, or in some cases even moves out of the state, taxpayers should not have to foot the bill. This legislation was a win-win for Californians – corporations either help get people back to work or the state recoups the tax break and we can save our state’s safety net.
    Many California businesses receive major credits and exemptions from dozens of state taxes. In fact, the tax credits passed as part of the September 2008 and February 2009 budget “solutions” will cost the state $8.7 billion in lost revenue from 2008-09 to 2014-15 and ongoing $2-2.5 billion yearly. 

NO LIMITATIONS: Should the U.S. Ambassador apologize or resign for saying that 40% of foreign male visitors are sex tourists?

By Atty Ted Laguatan

Within the context of a round table discussion with appellate court justices on combatting human trafficking, U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas was quoted as saying: "We know that 40% of foreign men who travel to the Philippines, including Americans, do so for sexual tourism."
Concerned that this statement might affect the tourist trade, Assistant Secretary Domingo Enario of the Department of Tourism in knee-jerk fashion, immediately questioned the figures cited by Ambassador Thomas.
Senators Ponce Enrile,  Panfilo Lacson and Chiz Escudero, also took pot shots at the Ambassador.
Enrile said: "...I don't think the statistics are correct."
Lacson took a stronger position: "He should at least clarify if he was misquoted by media. Otherwise, he should apologize to the Filipino people or pack his bags and go home for being tactless, offensive and being undiplomatic."
Escudero said that Thomas' statement was an embarrassment to the country.
Should Ambassador Thomas apologize or resign for saying 40% of male foreign visitors are sex tourists?
Let's be fair and look at the facts and reality. Our critical politicians and government officials appear to be confused and are missing the important issues here.
They do not deny that illegal, commercial sex is widespread and so easily accessible in the Philippines. This is an open secret.
Instead, they focus on the minutiae of statistical data. And so therefore, if one study says that only 39% of foreign men engage in sex tourism, they will point an accusing finger at the Ambassador and say: "You are wrong."
Understandably,  it is probably impossible to have exact accurate statistics of just how many foreign men come to the Philippines for sexual tourism activities. How will the researcher or statistician proceed? He can't hang around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport  foolishly asking newly arrived male tourist  questions like: "Dude, did you come to the Philippines  mainly for sex?";  or "Sir, are you a pedophile?"
However, the presence of so many foreigners in prostitution joints disguised as  nightclubs, girlie bars and massage parlors in different Philippine cities and towns  - in Pasay, Makati, Quezon City, Angeles, Olongapo, Cebu, etc. -  affirms the undeniable fact that a huge number of foreign male tourists come to the Philippines for commercial illegal sex.
Thus, the real  issue is not so much the pinpoint accuracy of the 40% figure cited by the Ambassador but whether or not a sizable number of male foreign tourists travel to the Philippines for illicit sex.
If it is the statistical data that was at issue, then if say,  it is determined that the  percentage of foreign me who travel to the Philippines is actually  more than 40% but 43% - critics of the Ambassador's statement would still say he is wrong - with them entirely  missing his point - which is, that too many foreign male tourists come here for illicit sex.
Even if only 5% of foreign male visitors come to the Philippines for illicit commercial sex, that is still too much.
In the first place, before launching criticisms and catcalls,  let's look at  why Ambassador Thomas' made this statement. Did he want Filipinos to look bad? Did he have any intentions to embarrass the country? Does he hate Filipinos?
Negative to all three questions. The humanist Ambassador Thomas  takes the campaign against human trafficking seriously. In speaking engagements, he frequently speaks of the many innocent young people condemned into terrible  situations forced by human traffickers to become  prostitutes  or slave labor workers.
In a speech last week in a  conference of overseas Filipino leaders from around the globe he said: "Human sex trafficking is unconscionable. It's not just a Philippine problem, we also have it in the United States...this is a global challenge."
It was within the setting and context of a discussion with appellate justices on the campaign against human trafficking when he made this foreign male sex tourist statement. It was taken out of context by his critics. Clearly, he made the statement not to embarrass the Philippines but to help Filipinos.
Any thinking  person who does not easily impute malice on others will clearly see the Ambassador's good intentions. His point: Many foreign male tourists come to the Philippines for illicit sex. If the market for these sex tourists continue and even increase, because of the profit involve - innocent young Filipinos will continue to be trafficked and victimized. We need to protect them.
He was not trying to drive away legitimate tourists. But what he hopes is that tourists who come for illicit sex especially pedophiles - do not come. He even encouraged the Justice Department to arrest Americans if they engage in illicit sex.
Ambassador Thomas' position is totally in line with the Department of Tourism's announced program of presenting wholesome nature and culture based offerings to foreign tourists. Certainly, we don't want the money of foreign sex tourists that destroy the bodies and souls of our people. Instead of criticizing him, Department of Tourism officials should thank and honor him.
The irresponsible statement by Senator Lacson for him to apologize or pack up is totally uncalled for. He has done nothing for which he needs to apologize and correctly affirms that he will not apologize. He should not.
It is not Ambassador Thomas' statement that should be a cause of embarrassment to us because he was merely stating the obvious. Instead, it should  be the failure of our lawmakers and corrupt law enforcers to stop widespread illegal commercial sex. This situation encourages foreign sex tourists to continue to come.
One of the U.S.' top career diplomats, Thomas became the first African American Ambassador to the Philippines. Previously, he was Director General of the Foreign Service. He has an impressive background: He graduated from the Jesuit Holy Cross College and did graduate studies at Columbia University.  He was Ambassador to Bangladesh and also held  posts in different countries: India, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Peru. He also served as Executive Director in the State Department and was Special Assistant to the former Secretary of State Condooleeza Rice.
A remarkable linguist, he speaks Spanish, Urdu, Bangla and now also speaks Tagalog - with a slight New York accent.
The previous  Ambassador Kristie  Kenney was a hard act to follow. She was very popular with Filipinos. She attended social functions, did interviews on popular TV shows, met with local leaders and watched Ateneo versus La Salle basketball games. She  secretly cheered for the Ateneo team and was an avid fan of basketball star Chris Tiu.
But in the one year and a half that Ambassador Thomas has been here, he has made a tremendous impact on Philippine affairs.
Let's  just  look at some of his other most recent  public statements which clearly indicate his goodwill towards Filipinos.
Just days ago,  he commented: "The US is very proud to ally itself with an honest government." He praised President Aquino for bringing honesty back to government.
Let's look at the significance and impact of this statement. First, it's an honest diplomatic way of saying that the past administration provided dishonest leadership. Indeed, during the past administration, the Philippines had the reputation of being the second most corrupt country in Asia and arguably maybe the most corrupt as new discoveries of corruption continue to emerge.
With Ambassador Thomas' statement to the world that we now have an honest President who's working hard to have an honest and transparent government - the world now looks at us with more respect.  Investors are now more inclined to invest in the Philippines. It also adds to  Filipinos having more faith in their government.
The Ambassador also gave a short statement two weeks ago which I believe was quite remarkable indicating that he is a true humanist. He stated: "This week marks the 39th anniversary of the imposition of martial law. It was not the  finest hour for the Philippines nor the United States."
About 30,000 people were victims of the dictatorship. Ambassador Thomas' statement was a surprisingly honest admission and condemnation  of the United States' role in propping up a corrupt and brutal dictatorship. For this alone, he deserves our highest respect.

Note: The California State Bar honors Atty. Ted Laguatan as one of only 29 lawyers in the U.S. officially certified continuously for more than 20 years as Expert Specialists in Immigration Law. He also does accident injuries, wrongful death and complex litigation. For communications: (San Francisco area) 455 Hickey Blvd. Ste. 516, Daly City, Ca 94015 tel 650 991-1154 fax 650 991-1186 email laguatanlaw@gmail.com

FROM THE CAPITOL: Airbag Repair Fraud

By Sen. Leland Yee

 

Earlier this week, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill to protect consumers from fraudulent repair of car airbags. Senate Bill 869, which I authored and introduced, would create a new crime of $5,000 and/or one year in prison for an automotive repair dealer who purports to replace a deployed airbag but who in fact fails to fully repair and restore it.
According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the most common reason for a malfunctioning airbag was that the airbag was missing or never replaced after a previous crash.
A recent report by National Public Radio (NPR) showed some dealers and repair shops even stuffed airbag compartments with aluminum cans, shoe leather, packaging materials, and even paper.
SB 869 will save lives.  Some of the stories we have heard involving airbag repair, or lack thereof, are simply unconscionable. This law will help ensure consumers are protected and body shops are accountable.
“It is long overdue to have real penalties for deceiving consumers and putting lives at risk,” said Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety. “Senator Yee’s SB 869 will address these numerous occurrences of auto repair fraud, particularly where consumers pay over $1,000 for replacement airbags and don’t get them.”
While the exact number of fraud cases is impossible to determine, several cases demonstrate the need for the legislation.
In 2009, 10News in San Diego reported on a father and mother who lost their son due to air bag fraud and were awarded a $15 million dollar judgment against the owner of an auto repair shop. Their son was killed in a car accident as result of a fraudulent airbag repair in which the body shop filled the steering wheel with paper instead of a new airbag.
In 2003, a Houston woman was badly injured and her mother killed after a collision in which the passenger airbag was simply stuffed back in and taped shut and the driver’s side airbag was completely missing.
Also in 2003, a student in Seattle died in a crash after her previously deployed airbag was simply cut out and a fake dashboard inserted.
In addition to the Center for Auto Safety, SB 869 was supported by Certified Automotive Parts Association, Consumer Federation of California, Consumers Union, Trauma Foundation, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, among others.
SB 869 officially becomes law on January 1, 2012.

VIRTUAL REALITY: The greatness of Steve Jobs

By Tony Lopez

STEVEN Paul Jobs, the man who I think is the greatest tycoon of our time, died peacefully in his sleep in the presence of family members, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, in California, (Thursday morning Oct. 6, 2011 in Manila). Born February 24, 1955, he was 56. He died from complications from pancreatic cancer.
“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives,” Apple’s board said in a statement. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”
Jobs battled cancer in 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009. He took another leave of absence in January—his third since his health problems began—before resigning as CEO six weeks before he died. Jobs became Apple’s chairman and handed the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.
“Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world and talented enough to do it,” mourned President Barack Obama.
“By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun.”
Obama added:“And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grown-ups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: He changed the way each of us sees the world.”
“The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented,” the US president noted.
Jobs’s greatness lies in the impact of his work. He remade seven major industries—the PC, software, music, telephony, movies, television and cloud computing, so that today, billions enjoy a better life and lifestyle.
His inventions or innovations were enthralling in their design and technology and marvels of simplicity and user friendliness: Apple II, Macintosh, the iPod, iTunes, iMovie, iPhone, the iPad.
The last two products have yet to make their full run in the market.
Together, the iPhone and the iPad will probably kill the laptop computer as we know it today, along with the digital camera, the television business, and most other kinds of electronic toys and gadgets.
“The products he’s shepherded into existence with single-minded visionread like a Top 10 list, or a Top 50 list, of the world’s most successful inventions: Macintosh. iPod. iPhone. iTunes. iMovie. iPad,” said David Pogue of The New York Times six weeks before Jobs died.
As of March 2011, 108 million iPhones had been sold. As of June 2011, 25 million iPads had been sold. The iPod was introduced in 2001. Jobs increased the market price of Apple from $10 to $400 a share.
The iPhone was launched in 2007. Since that time, Apple share price had tripled.
The iPhone combines a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and an Internet communications device in a single handheld product.
In June 2010, Apple introduced the iPhone 4 featuring an all-new design, FaceTime video calling, a new high resolution Retina™ display, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing camera, high definition video recording, Apple’s A4 processor and a 3-axis gyroscope. A new iPhonemodel was introduced this October.
In January 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, a multi-purpose mobile device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, viewing photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and more.
Jobs fused humanities and arts with engineering and technology to produce products of great elegance, simplicity, user friendliness, power and versatility.
“Technology alone is not enough,” explained Steve at the end of his speech introducing the iPad 2, in March 2011. “It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with humanities, that yields the results that make our hearts sing.”
Jobs also proved that you don’t need a formal education to succeed in business or in life. He created the riddle: which is the better course—humanities or engineering. He excelled in both, without earning a degree in either. Many of his management qualities should probably taught in the business school—vision, persistence, customer focus, attention to detail, savvy marketing, dictatorial grip on product development and marketing.
So successful had Jobs been at Apple that on Aug. 9, 2011, the company became, briefly, the world’s most valuable publicly held enterprise at $343 billion, higher than the $334 billion valuation of Exxon MobilCorp. Apple today is worth more than Microsoft and Intel combined, the two companies that made the PC a commodity and initially stole the thunder from Jobs’s Apple. Jobs himself was worth $8.3 billion.
Apple today has a market price of $348 billion, down from its 12-month peak of $422.86 billion. The company will probably be hurt by Jobs’ demise. No other company had its fortune and fortune inextricably intertwined with the vision and persona of its CEO.
Apple changed the game in the smartphone market with its iPhone, andthe e-book market with its iPad touch-screen device.
Steve once said “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
Jobs took his personal motto from the final page of Whole Earth Catalog. The book, he told graduates at at Stanford in 2005, ends with the admonition “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

STREET TALK: Harnessing Overseas Filipino Media

 By Greg Macabenta

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas, chaired by Sec. Imelda Nicolas, is holding the Global Summit of Filipinos in the Diaspora at the Philippine International Convention Center.  The three-day conference (from September 27 to 29), organized in cooperation with U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance (USPGG) and National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), is an ambitious effort to harness the potentials of overseas Filipinos for national development.
NaFFAA, of which I used to be national chairman, is the largest coalition of Filipino organizations in America. USPGG, with TLC Beatrice CEO Loida Nicolas Lewis and lawyer-activist Rodel Rodis, as chair and president, respectively, started out as U.S. Pinoys for Noynoy-Mar, which campaigned actively for the Aquino-Roxas tandem in the last presidential elections. It metamorphosed into its present structure on the premise that, having helped PNoy win, Filipino-Americans should help him succeed.
While overseas Filipinos – both OFWs and those who have become either permanent residents or naturalized citizens of their adopted countries – have already been actively helping the Motherland, mainly with billions in remittances, there is still much that they can do for the Philippines in the areas of health, education, investments, technology transfer and tourism development. This is the thrust of the Global Summit.
But to be in a better position to help the Philippines, overseas Filipinos need to be empowered in their adopted countries – socially, economically and politically. In the U.S. this is being achieved, although laboriously. In Europe, the Middle East and around Asia, most of our kababayan are still trying to emerge from servitude, reminiscent of the Pinoy experience in America in the early 1900s.
An empowered overseas Filipino community can be a potent force. This was demonstrated in the lobbying efforts in the U.S. Congress that resulted in the passage of benefits for Filipino World War II veterans, and in the support given to then Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. and now Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario in his fight to keep the Philippines in the investment portfolio of CalPERS. Medicare portability, the Save Our Industries Act and the Spratleys controversy are three issues of importance to the Philippines that Filipinos in the U.S. are now actively focusing on.
Tourism promotions is one major concern where an empowered overseas Filipino community can be of great help.
In this regard, overseas Filipino media – mainly newspapers and TV - can be among the most potent vehicles for helping achieve empowerment – but only with a better appreciation of their tremendous capabilities and how to put them to effective use.
There is a lot of talk about exploiting New Media, but this is a field that still needs to be fully understood and mastered. Social media, dominated by FaceBook, is still like a Tower of Babel, with sometimes-heroic and mostly-clumsy attempts at communications management mixed with a flood of irrelevant chatter.
On the other hand, overseas Filipino print media and TV are just waiting to be put to proper and effective use.
I’m delivering a paper on this topic at the Global Summit. My thesis is simple enough. If you’re a Pinoy newcomer in a foreign country and you want to know how you can meet your kababayan or where you can buy bagoong or eat Jollibee or how you can send money or a balikbayan box home, you only need to pick up a Pinoy newspaper. You can find them, whether you’re in Tel-Aviv, Singapore, Sydney or London and most especially if you’re in California, New York or Chicago.
Pinoy media, particularly the international TV operations of GMA Network and ABS-CBN, will also keep you abreast of the latest showbiz gossip and the political circus in the Philippines.
But if you want to know about vital issues in your adopted country that affect you as an overseas Filipino, you’re out of luck. You’ll hardly pick up any stories in overseas Filipino media on developments in the White House or on Capitol Hill or in the parliaments or state assemblies or city halls that are written or reported in terms relevant to you.
Overseas Filipino media should logically be skewing mainstream news to your needs, but they don’t. They’re too busy telling you what’s happening in the Philippines. ABS-CBN produces Balitang America and its equivalent in Europe, the Middle East and Australia, which report on news and issues relevant to the Filipino communities in their specific coverage areas. But these are limited efforts and only serve to underscore the unmet needs of overseas Pinoys.
The mainstream media report the news in general terms. Whether or not they specifically affect you as a Pinoy is up to you to figure out. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, most Filipinos in the U.S. failed to appreciate the impact of the Patriot Act on them – in many cases, to their grief.
The bottom line is that, instead of helping Filipinos assimilate and integrate, Filipino media tend to perpetuate their status as mere visitors and strangers in their adopted countries.
Small wonder that, in America, where over 40 percent of people of Filipino descent are U.S.-born, the youth know very little about their parents’ Motherland.
For mainstream societies and governments in countries where Filipinos reside in large numbers, Filipino media should be the logical source of information on the Philippines and our people. Filipinas Magazine, published by Mona Lisa Yuchengco for 13 years and by me for almost five years, did exactly that. It told of Filipino achievers in the American mainstream and generated pride among young FilAms. Unfortunately, the magazine lost too much money and had to close down.
As far as I can tell, only Filipino Reporter in New York has taken steps to build a link with the mainstream. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and State Governor Andrew Cuomo both write regular columns in the newspaper.
Years ago, Alex Esclamado, as publisher-editor of Philippine News, used his newspaper as a bully pulpit to promote the interests of the Filipino community, including farm workers’ rights, equitable benefits for Filipino World War II veterans, and the right of Filipino doctors, accountants and other professionals to practice their professions in the U.S. He got results.
 Unfortunately, overseas Filipino media have difficulty surviving, even under benign economic conditions – worse, in recessionary times. Understaffed and underfunded, they take the point of least resistance and resort mostly to “download journalism” or picking up stories from online editions of Manila publications. Not surprisingly, only Pinoys are interested in them. Why would the White House or Capitol Hill be interested in Pinoy showbiz tsismis or the inquisition in the Philippine Senate?
In these times, when our government can use every available resource to promote Philippine interests abroad, efforts should be undertaken to tap overseas Filipino media. Hopefully, the Global Summit of Filipinos in the Diaspora will appreciate their potentials and take the necessary steps to harness them.
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas may be the logical government agency to take on this challenge.

(gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)