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FILIPINO COMMUNITY IN SAN FRANCISCO CELEBRATES FILIPINO-AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

16 November 2015 - The Filipino-American Community in Daly City celebrated Filipino-American History Month at the Pacelli Events Center in Daly City on October 10.

Through the invitation of Mayor Raymond Buenaventura, the officers of the Philippine Consulate were warmly welcomed by the Filipino-American organizations based in Daly City. 

Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. was given an opportunity to address the Community, and took the time to thank them for their continued efforts in promoting Philippine culture. He encouraged those present to “continue to engage with the larger Community through projects and activities that allow other nationalities to understand us as a people. Through events like these, we find commonalities that would allow us to relate and communicate with one another better, and ultimately build a stronger Community.”
 
The program included Bayanihan Dancers and other cultural performances, booths featuring Filipino organizations, and food trucks serving Filipino food. The Consulate also took the opportunity to provide overseas voter registration during the event.

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PLAQUE UNVEILED FOR FILIPINO-AMERICAN OLYMPIAN AT SAN FRANCISCO PARK

22 October 2015 – A bronze plaque in honor of Filipino-American Olympian diver Victoria Manalo Draves was unveiled at the eponymous Victoria Manalo Draves Park in South of Market, San Francisco on October 10.

The event, which was spearheaded by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations’ Pacific Region (NAFFAA), honored Ms. Manalo Draves, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the three-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform. She holds the distinction of being the first Filipino woman and first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal.

In his remarks, Philippine Consul General Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. recalled the struggles that Ms. Manalo Draves went through growing up as a child of a mixed-marriage household.  She was born at a time when mixed marriages were frowned upon, and possessing a Filipino surname prevented one from accomplishing things they wanted to do. She wanted to excel and compete as an athlete, and did so by using her mother’s maiden name. 

The plaque is the first in San Francisco that honors a Filipino woman. Consul General Bensurto encouraged the community, especially the present generation of Filipino-Americans who are shaping their identities to learn from Victoria Manalo Draves’s story, a woman persevered amidst disparate circumstances in pursuit of her dreams. 

In closing, he encouraged the Filipino-American Community to include Manalo Draves in the narrative of the “shared history of the Philippines and America, a tale to be told to future generations of Filipino-Americans, she whose very name Victoria Manalo means a double victory.”  To recognize NAFFAA’s efforts in promoting the national interests of the Philippines and raising greater awareness and appreciation of the valuable contributions of Filipino-Americans to the progress and history of the U.S., the Consulate presented a certificate of recognition to Mr. Rudy Asercion, who represented the organization.

The event was attended by Assembly member of California David Chiu, General Manager of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department Phil Ginsberg; Chief Deputy Director, Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services Derick Brown; Police Captain Jerome de Filippo of the Southern Station, and leaders and members of the Filipino-American Community.