Community Leaders Form Filipinos For Liberals Coalition in Canada

 

By Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired
Toronto-Canada
March 28, 2021
 


Historically, for more than 15 years since the retirement of the first Filipino elected to the House of Commons, Liberal MP Rey Pagtakhan of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Filipino communities in Canada have not had any real political voice and representation in Canada's Parliament. Albeit we have sitting Members of Parliament who are considered to be allies and also supporters in key posts in the governing Liberal Party, it is desirable that Parliament should better reflect its citizens and it is time to have someone from the Filipino communities who make up so many in Canada.

Filipino Canadians, according to one community leader, "know and believe they can meaningfully contribute to making society better for all Canadians". Collectively, Filipinos in the diaspora "want to make a difference, to inspire positive change, to make lives better, to make government work better, and in so doing to uplift the profile of their growing community and desire to make them proud of those accomplishments by a fellow Filipino Canadian", said another leader.

To address this recurring situation and in response to the dreams and hopes of bringing qualified Filipino Canadians into the hallowed halls of Ottawa and/or Queen's Park,  dedicated, determined, and responsible individuals accordingly, must take concerted and coherent political actions. Thus, this will be a great cause and a challenging part of answering the long-held but unrealized desire of many Filipinos who belong to the 4th largest ethnic minority group in this country "to have their own" on the national or provincial levels of government.

On March 10, 2021, a number of like-minded Filipino Canadian community leaders in Ontario have decided to bring into focus and rationalize the community's goal and aspiration of being democratically and realistically represented. Expressing similar manifestations and interests these leaders are establishing a collective movement in order to propagate, preserve and promote the proven values and principles of the Liberals. Those values are "more support for the middle class, women, youth, and the indigenous communities, a real climate plan, a forward-looking immigration agenda that values the contributions of immigrants, particularly Filipinos, in growing the economy and strengthening the Canadian society" following the pandemic.

Thus, in an exploratory zoom meeting, a number of Filipino Canadian community leaders in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) discussed ideas and have unanimously decided to form a coalition, called  "Filipinos For Liberals". This is a  group of politically-oriented people thus far, scattered across electoral ridings, and agreed that now is the time for a formal coalition to better focus their collective support of the Liberal agenda in the community. The movement is alive and it is thriving. Sabi nga ng karamihang kababayan : "Oras na! Panahon na !"

The "Filipinos For Liberals" is being formed and is excited to better manage the movement, focus resources, educate, inform, and train, and is inviting Filipino Canadians to join and be part of it. They will be reaching out to other leaders in the community to be part of the organization and they are hoping to hear back from others who want to be part of the movement.  In so doing the coalition expects members for the various levels of support — from just donating to the party all the way to running for office, and everything and anything in between.

Moving forward with great enthusiasm and expectations, the "Filipinos For Liberals" movement, has designated an organizing committee to pursue its goals. With a temporary coordinating committee at the helm, followed by sessions establishing mission, vision, constitution, membership requirements, and the election of executives, the coalition will be safely on its track. This way, the formation of the organization will be more inclusive, more broad-based, with buy-in from more members on most or all decisions on the establishment, in values, on policy development, and other relevant concerns. Let us wake up the sleeping Tamaraw!, cried the organizers.

For further information, Liberal friends and supporters are encouraged to directly contact: Norma Carpio at 905-257-1059 or Conrad Corpus at 416-319-0053

or email: fflfilipinofriends.ca. ( Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired)