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Medel Paguirigan, RN: Amid the pandemic, a baritone is born
By Cristina DC Pastor For nearly four decades, Medel Paguirigan diligently forged a career as a New York City nurse until his retirement in 2022. As he rose the ranks from hemodialysis nurse at Brookdale Hospital in the late 1980s to his final role as Corporate Senior Director in Nursing Education at New York Health […]
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Mayor Eric Adams makes historic attendance at TOFA
By Rasmin Diaz & Cristina DC Pastor There was unmistakable excitement as the honorees shuffled in, the piano played, and the mayor strode to his seat. It’s a historic first for any sitting New York City mayor to attend a Filipino event. On September 16, The Town Hall was luminous with New York City dignitaries […]
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How a Filipina journalist fell out of love with UK’s royal family
By Stella Gonzales LONDON — Like many Filipinos, I was enamored with the UK’s royal family. I distinctly remember sitting in front of the TV in our apartment in Manila to watch the fairy tale wedding of Prince Charles and Diana on July 29, 1981. We had no classes that day because our college […]
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How my Faith, family walked me on my journey to becoming a writer
By Mark Polo Eyo When I was offered the extraordinary privilege to become the Communications Lead for NaFFAA, I asked myself if I was ready to play that significant role in amplifying our voice through writing for our Filipino American community. I felt the heavy burden of following the great footsteps of master communicators and […]
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Mothers are hailed as queens in their households
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, PhD Tributes have been paid to Queen Elizabeth who left this terrestrial world at age 96, her demise marked by pomp, pageantry and lots of affection from people around the world. And why shouldn’t it be. Her 70-year reign likely will never be matched by any monarch anywhere. It demonstrated her ability to […]
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NaFFAA calls on younger generation to step up, be engaged, make history (Part 2)
By Mark Polo Eyo NEC DAY 1- National Advocacy The first day of the conference kicked off with discussions on national advocacy that included a bipartisan panel of former commissioners of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders The day was also filled with workshops and discussions on hot-button issues […]
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NaFFAA celebrates 25th year, elects new set of officers (Part 1)
By Mark Polo Eyo After three years since its last convening, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations’ highly anticipated 14th National Empowerment Conference (NEC) was finally held on August 4th – 6th at Harrah’s in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three-day conference was the largest assembly of Filipino Americans since the pandemic. The conference was […]
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From New York and beyond, TOFA goes global
By Rasmin Diaz How is it that Michael Cinco, a celebrated fashion designer based in Dubai, is being honored with a TOFA recognition? On September 16, the 12th Annual TOFA Awards will launch the TOFA Global Awards international category with Cinco as its first honoree. The Outstanding Filipinos in America, which began as an award-giving […]
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NaFFAA celebrates 25 years in Las Vegas
By Loida Nicolas Lewis Twenty-five years ago, in the spring of 1997, Alex Esclamado, Rodel Rodis, and Michael Dadap visited me for lunch when I was CEO of TLC Beatrice International. Alex, the former publisher of the Philippine News, discussed the need for a national organization for Filipinos because other Asians had well-known national groups. […]