FALDEF Newsletter July2013 Vol1

7/28/2019 FALDEF Newsletter July2013 Vol1

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It has been a great privilege and a great pleasure to serve as GeneralCounsel to the Filipino Legal Defense and Education Fund. Therecan be no achievement of justice without dexterity in the judicialprocess. Fine lawyers both navigate and advocate for parties in theassertion of their rights. The attorneys associated with this organiza-tion have served with dignity, generosity, and tremendous focus. The

attorneys have never complained and have accepted their responsi-bilities without hesitation. A Judicial System is valueless without access. Access has no value

without energetic advocacy.

Our attorneys who have served have achieved great accomplishments in representing those least

able to assert and protect their rights.

Rights without remedies are the equivalent of no rights at all. It takes great courage to stand upfor yourself when you are relatively new to this country, and it is for these people that the attor-

neys of FALDEF serve as a sturdy backbone and broad shoulders.

At the outset of my involvement as General Counsel I was allowed to enter the archives of the

NAACP Legal Defense Fund and had the great privilege to review the original brief submitted tothe United States Supreme Court in The Matter of Brown v. The Board of Education. Focusingon the hand written notes of Justice Thurgood Marshall it was clear that the matter was not just

legal but also personal to him.

It is my wish that the matters brought to the FALDEF be handled vigorously but also personally.

To date I have not been disappointed.

A Message from General Counsel Steven S. Siegel

FALDEF Meets with the Office of the Attorney General of New York

Ju ly 2013Volume II, Issue I

Defend.Serve.EducateThe official newsletter of the Filipino American Legal Defense & Education Fund

We believe in justice

We believe in reliability

We believe in integrity

We believe in service to

others

Inside this issue:

Message from Gen-eral Counsel Steven

1

FALDEF Meets Atty.General of NY

1

FALDEF offers legalassistance to Filipinosexploited by 7-Eleven

2

PATH for DREAMsFREE Legal Clinic

2

A Dreamers Story 3

In Retrospect 4

Phil. IndependenceDay Celebration

5

FALDEF & UniPro 6

Get to Know theInterns

6

Live Band @ Payag 7

NYIC Workshop 9

Donation Form 10

DSE TrailBlazerAwards

7

Media & Non-profits 8

Thank you DCG 8

Atty. Harlan Levy, Deputy Chief Attorney General of NY and 2 State prosecutors with L-R: Consul BongCarino of PCGNY, Atty. JT Mallonga and Atty Patricia Astorga of FALDEF; 7th from left is Con. Gen. Mario

De Leon of PCGNY, 9th from left is Atty Steven Siegel of FALDEF and Atty. Merit Salud of NaFFAA R1

On June 24, 2013, the Philippine Con-sulate General of New York, FALDEF

and NaFFAA met with the Office ofthe Attorney General of NY to pri-marily discuss the issue of labor traf-ficking.


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Page 2 Defend.Serve.Educate

FALDEF Offers Legal Assistance to Filipinos exploited by 7-Eleven

As reported in the Inquirer, Global Nation, Several 7-Eleven convenience stores in Long Island, NewYork and Virginia are under investigation for allegedly exploiting Filipino immigrants under a schemesimilar to that of a "modern-day plantation system" where their wages are withheld and their em-

ployment concealed under stolen identities.

In line with FALDEF's mission to provide pro bono legal services to Filipinos who are victims oflegal injustice and, in conjunction with the Philippine Embassies/Consulates mandate to help"disadvantaged" Filipinos, FALDEF would like to offer its legal services to any and all Filipinos - aswell as to Non-Filipinos- who have been or are currently employed by any of these 7-Eleven estab-lishments located in the states of New York and Virginia.

FALDEF is most willing to work with both the New York Philippine Consulate and the PhilippineEmbassy in rendering legal assistance to all Filipino 7-Eleven victims (former or current employees)in both the states of New York and Virginia.

If you know anyone who's a victim of this labor trafficking, please contact FALDEF President, Atty. JTMallonga at (646) 399-6463 email us at [email protected] .

No nationdoes or should

get ahead atthe peril of itsworkers.~ US Sec. of Labor,Hilda L. Solis

HELP WANTED:

Marketing andCommunicationsInterns

Send your resume [email protected]

Visit our Blog fordetails.

FALDEF Pres. JT Mallonga

PATH for DREAMS Initiative: Providing Access To Hope

Officers and volunteers from FALDEF, NaFFAA, PCGNY, UniPro, SABANY & FALANY)

Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF) held an event at the Philippine Consulate

in New York on Friday June 7th, 2013. It was a free legal clinic that had a plethora of lawyers with awide variety of different specializations. The lawyers for the event ranged from various fields includingimmigration, prosecution, and criminal and even included a judge. The team that was involved in thisevent was highly prepared to tackle any case presented to them. There was a sense of diversity andwell-rounded professionalism in the room.

Not even the heavy summer rain could stop the volunteers from FALDEF, National Federation of Fili-pino American Associations Region 1 (NaFFAA R1), Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) ,Filipino American Lawyers of NY (FALANY), South Asian Bar Association of NY (SABANY) and thePhilippine Consulate of New York. (PCGNY)

FREE LEGAL

CLINIC

To make an appoint-ment, call (212) 221-1888 or email us [email protected]


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A Dreamers Story: John Quidilla

Hi my name is John Quidilla. I live here in Plano, Texas with my family.

I moved to here in March 1999 with my family for my fathers work with a Visa.

I finished middle school, high school, and started college here. On July 20,2008 my father passed away. Along with this my familys Green card processwas stopped. My mom and siblings were able to retain their legal status, but myapplication for a student Visa was denied. My family and I thought it would bebest for me to finish college here and go from there.

In November of 2011 I was picked up by I.C.E. early morning at my home. Iwas detained and taken to a detention center to be questioned. I waited in aholding cell for a couple of hours but was released on bail and allowed to gohome later that day.

My mom searched for lawyers and found FALDEF. She called them to ask for help and they agreed towork on my case. After 3 court dates, President Obamas executive order and 8 months after filing forDACA, I finally get my Employment Authorization card.

Thanks to the help and support of FALDEF, Phil-Am Chamber of Commerce of Texas, friends and fam-ily that I am still here today.

You can watch John Quidillas video testimonial in our website,blog andYouTube Channel.

FALDEF broughtthe "New York"way to Texas, andhelped me staywith family andfriends.

~ John Quidilla, FALDEFclient

Rights without

remedies are the

equivalent of norights at all. It

takes great

courage to stand

up for yourself

when you are

relatively new to

this country, and it

is for these people

that the attorneys

of FALDEF serve

as a sturdy

backbone and

broad shoulders.

~ Gen. Counsel Steven S.Siegel


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In RetrospectApril 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

Rights without remedies are the equivalent of no rights at all. ~ Gen. Counsel Steven S. Siegel

Volume II, Issue I Page 4

April 2013

CUNY School of Law.Kinding Sindaw Panel Dis-cussion on Immigration:Filipinos in the USA

Partnership with Were

the Changing Face ofAmerica

Overseas Foreign Worker(OFW) Townhall Meeting(NY)

New York City ImmigrantHeritage Week Sympo-sium:State of UndocumentedImmigrant Rights and Re-sources (NY)

May 2013

National Council of AsianPacific Americans 2013Policy Summit(Washington, DC)

SPECIAL EDITION: FIL-HARMONIC Band BenefitShow for FALDEF @ Payag(Queens, NY)

June 2013

Pilipino American Unity for

Progress - UniPro Summit2013. Atty. JT Mallonga,Guest Speaker (NY)

Philippine IndependenceDay Parade

PATH for DREAMsFREE DACA Legal Clinic

Philippine IndependenceDay Gala Night (NJ)

NLI Certification Ceremo-nies

Filharmonic Band SummerSolstice Special Edition @Payag

In Retrospect

With Kinding Sindaw and Filipino Association of Hunter College | With Ambassador Cuisia

With Senator Chiz Escudero | With Fair Hiring and Verite CEO, Marie Apostol

Page 4

Defend.Serve.EducateThe official newsletter of the Filipino American Legal Defense &

Defend.Serve.Educate

at PAFCOM Ball with Mayor Steve Fullop and Chairman Edwin Solano | with former Phil. Pres. Fidel Ramos


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Volume II, Issue I Page 5

With former Phil. Secretary ofInterior and Local Government

In Jersey City on ImmigrationAffairs

With Safe Horizon Interns andlawyers on human trafficking

With UniPro and Filipino Stu-dent Associations

With NaFFAA, PCGNY & UniPro

In RetrospectFALDEF at the 115th Philippine Independence Day Celebration

at Timonium Fairgrounds in Maryland which was hosted bythe Katipunan- Filipino Association of Maryland

FALDEF joined in the celebration of the Phil-ippine Independence Day on June 1, 2013 .

Some of our representatives marched duringthe parade and others manned the booth at the

street fair. We promoted our June 7, 2013Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA) legal clinic while distributing flyersand informational pamphlets. We also had the

opportunity to answer various questions aboutFALDEF and Deferred Action.

FALDEF Directors and supporters with ABS-CBNs Don Tagala and Asian Journals Momar Visaya

At the NY parade and PIDC Gala Night


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The Partnership Between FALDEF and UniPro

By Randi Gonzales, Director Legal Counsel

Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro)

The partnership between UniPro and FALDEF is a strong one and dates all the way back to the earlydays of both organizations. Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc., also known as UniPro, wasestablished in 2009 and is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization comprised ofyoung professionals and students with the objective of obtaining unity, understanding and progress inthe Pilipino community and the community at large through collaboration, education and the facilita-tion of dialogue. One of UniPro's most important functions is to support and assist all Pilipino organi-zations in any way possible, whether it be through event or program attendance, promotion, assis-tance with production and/or execution, among other functions.

UniPro members were and are regular attendees and volunteers at FALDEF's numerous legal clinics,workshops and panel discussions; especially the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)immigration law clinics being held as of late. UniPro also recently produced and sponsored, withFALDEF, the State of Undocumented Immigrant Rights in New York City event at the PhilippineConsulate on April 18, 2013. This was a panel discussion and open forum describing how various

organizations provide resources and services to underserved and undocumented immigrants in the New York City area.UniPro has partnered with NaFFAA (the National Federation of Filipino American Associations) and FALDEF for the One Vote OneNation Campaign, an initiative to get Filipino Americans to register and vote in national and local elections. UniPro members havealso participated with FALDEF in assisting with AALDEF's (the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund) national effortsto conduct poll monitoring and exit poll surveys in recent elections, ensuring fair elections and compiling important informationfrom Asian voters.

UniPro looks forward to continuing and strengthening its partnership with FALDEF, and, in turn, improving the Pilipino communityfor many years to come.

Randi Gonzales with FALDEF

Director Licelle Cobrador

Get To Know Our Interns

Miguel Garcia-Ataupillco is one of the dedicated interns who volunteers his time andtalent for FALDEF. He is also an accomplished salsa instructor, and has led FALDEFsSalsa Night.

DSE: "Can you tell us something about yourself?"

MGA: "Well, I was born in 1989 in Lima-Peru and I came to this country when I was 13years old. After a few months of volunteering in a different organizations, Cecilia Mejia(FALDEF's Director of Development) brought me to FALDEF."

DSE: "How long have you been volunteering for FALDEF?"

MGA: "I have been volunteering for almost a year now. About 10 months."

DSE: "What's the most important thing that you get from volunteering for FALDEF?"

MGA: "I think the most important thing that I learned from FALDEF is to assist people in adifferent perspective, which is the legal aspect in terms of immigration."

DSE: "Any future plans?

MGA: "I graduated from Hunter College in December 2012 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. I'm planning to go to Law School."

L-R: Fellow intern Shawn, Miguel and FAL-DEF Pres. Atty. JT Mallonga


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Page 7Volume II, Issue I

Live Band Night at Payag featuring Fil-Harmonic for the benefit of FALDEF

By Cecilia R. Mejia

On Friday, May 17, Payag Restaurant, in Sunnyside Queens, hosted a benefit show for the

Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The show was part of a Live BandSeries that the restaurant hosts.

The night featured the most popular band of the series, the FilHarmonic Band, who sobigheartedly put on a show in support of the organization. Guest of FALDEF, FilHarmonicand PAYAG joined in a night of music, laughter, and good times.

Thanks to the generous donation of Hocus Focus Inc, there was also a photo booth set upfor guests to enjoy. The night was a success in many ways, more importantly the work ofFALDEF was brought to the attention of those in the Community, as Payag Manager soadamantly stated, Every Filipino should be supporting your organization.

Chairman Rivas and daughter at the

Payag benefit

Chairman Rivas, Budd Deauna and

Engineer Roger Alama

GET INVOLVED. Let your talents and interests lead you to your own

fundraising endeavor for FALDEF. Contact our Director of Fundingat fundraising@faldef,org

Now Accepting Nominations for the 1st DSE Trailblazer Awards

Nominations for the 2013 DSE Trailblazer Awards should be submitted to [email protected] and

should include a brief description of the individual's accomplishments (300 words max), a testimonial on how the individual's contri-butions to the community reflects FALDEF's mission to Defend, Serve and Educate (300 words max) and a photo of the nominee.Awardees will be selected by FALDEF's DSE Committee based on a careful review of the submissions.

Here are the criteria:Defend - The Defense Award is designated for an attorney whose work on behalf of the Filipino/minority immigrant communityhas had national and/or international impact. The recipient must demonstrate a strong commitment to promoting justice and socialchange both in and out of the courtroom.

Serve - The Service Award is designated for an individual from any sector whose dedication to public service has had a significantimpact on the community, national, or international level. The individual's overall accomplishments must reflect the high tradition ofselfless public service that is at the core of FALDEF's mission.

Educate - The Education Award is designated for an individual from any sector whose work has contributed significantly to theeducation of the public on social and/or political issues that are highly relevant to minority immigrant communities. The individual's

work must reflect FALDEF's mission to empower the community through education.

Important Deadlines:

September 15. Last day to submit nominations.October 15. DSE Selection Committee Final voting tallies.

Please go to our website to download nomination forms. Good-luck!

SAVE THE DATE:

October 26, 2013 @ 7PM1st DSE Gala & Awards Night


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In RetrospectApril 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

Rights without remedies are the equivalent of no rights at all. ~ Gen. Counsel Steven S. Siegel

Volume II, Issue I Page 8Page 8 Defend.Serve.EducateThe

Note to Non-profits: Get to Know the Media and Use Them to Your Advantage

by Cristina DC Pastor

In a media universe we no longer recognize today, there used to be this border separating a journalist from an activist. A journal-ist reported the news with utmost accuracy and objectivity, and an advocate usually made the news with his motivation and hismessage. Never the twain shall meet.

Today, such a division is still recognized but not really practiced. Often, it is blurred by the dual roles they assign to themselves. Ajournalist can now become an advocate and it is becoming acceptable for an advocate to also be the narrator of his own story.The rise of social media has enabled individuals to speak often without the need for a publicist, in the case of some celebrities, orwithout waiting for a journalist to seek an interview. When Angelina Jolie revealed in a New York Times essay about her doublemastectomy, she was not just revealing her family history of being breast cancer-prone but also urging women prone to breastcancer to be gene-tested, a radical message even for some feminists.

Whoever the messenger and by whatever means, the media ought to be a lifetime partner of non-profit organizations. It could bea message given to newspapers and radio/television or disseminated via Facebook and Twitter. The media helps explain the mes-sage in cogent, analytical or humorous ways depending on the audience. When Pulitzer Award-winning journalist Jose AntonioVargas began to speak out on immigration reform, his conversations with Americans brought him from Capitol Hill to ComedyCentral, his audience as varied as blue-collar folks to conservatives to comedians. His message has resonated with all types ofaudiences, not just those in the undocumented community. In a way, this makes Vargas not just an accomplished journalist but avery effective campaigner as well.

Vargas used the pages of The New York Times to expose himself as an undocumented immigrant, following that up very quicklywith social media posts and images about his thoughts and opinions on immigration issues. He is followed by hundreds of thou-sands not all of them fans. Some cynics and critics do follow him, but Vargas is probably the first to welcome contrary opinions,the better to explain issues when they are challenged.

Non-profit organizations should learn the specific functions and audi-ence of the media. Traditional forms, like newspapers, radio and televi-sion, will likely cater to the older, Boomer generation, while Facebook,tweets and blogs will find penetration among much younger Americans.Knowing these, non-profit organizations should learn to tailor theirmessage and language in ways that would appeal to those demographics.

Many non-profits are now finding it necessary to hire writers who know

their way around social media with the same urgency as hiring programofficers. They realize that important messages need not languish in thecompany drawer because a skilled media practitioner would make sureit gets the widest attention.

Cristina DC Pastor is the founding editor of The FilAm Thefilam.net a magazine for Filipinos in the New York Tri-State .

The Fil-Am Press Club with FALDEF client, Jose Antonio Vargas.

A Community Says Thank You to Deputy Consul General Tess Dizon De Vega

Join us to express our gratitude to DCG and wish her good-luck as she leaves her post to return to the

Philippines in a new capacity as the Chief of Staff of the Hon. Secretary of the Department of ForeignAffairs, Albert del Rosario. Despite her very short tenure, her leadership has been pivotal in creatingvarious platforms in bringing about an empowered and united community not only in the Eastern sea-board but across the United States.

Share your thoughts and well wishes in the Friends and Fans of DCG FaceBook page:www.facebook.com/FansofDCG

DCG, thank you for your overwhelming support for FALDEF!


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4 West 43rd St, Suite 505New York, NY 10036

Phone: 212-221-1888Fax: 212-221-7337

E-mail: [email protected]

FILIPINO AMERICAN

LEGAL DEFENSE &EDUCATION FUND

Defend. Serve. Educate

We are on the Web!

www.faldef.orgwww.facebook.com/FALDEFwww.faldef.blogspot.comwww.twitter.com/faldef1

UPCOMING EVENTS

Every weekFREE Legal ClinicTo make an appointmentcal (212) 221-1888 or emailus at [email protected]

July 10, 2013Despedida Party for DCG

October 26, 2013

The First Annual DSE

GALA Night

Page 9

EDITORIAL STAFFEditor: Jen Furer

ContributorsPatricia AstorgaMarie AunioLicelle CobradorRandi GonzalesCecilia MejiaCristina DC Pastor

Photo credits:

Cely DeaunaJoven JoseMerit SaludRamon Tinana

Questions? Suggestions?Email us at [email protected]

Defend.Serve.Educate ispublished quarterly.

FALDEF, is uniquely set-up as the Filipino American legal defense group, of national scope, in the United States. Based in NewYork, it provides pro bono legal services to Filipinos and members of the Filipino-American community who are suffering from legal

injustices. FALDEF is equally committed to voter education and protection, and is focused on fighting human trafficking through

prosecution, training, education and victim support in the Philippines. For more information please visit www.faldef.org

FALDEF Completes New York Immigration Coalition Workshop

by Marie Aunio

It is but fitting. A partnership that began in April during the 10 thImmigrant Heritage Week was further strengthened in the fol-lowing months of May and June. The fortuitous joint event that

began it all was the State of Undocumented Immigrants Rightsand Resources in NYC which was hosted by PCGNY, FALDEF,NaFFAA and UniPro and held at the Philippine Consulate. AsFALDEFs pro-bono legal defense mission is to serve the com-munity without discrimination of race and creed, working with

the Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) is a perfect match.

FALDEF Directors and officers participated in the skill building workshop offered by MOIAand The New York Community Trust, in partnership with Citizens Committee for New YorkCity. Emerging immigrant leaders that came from Asia, Africa and Latin America took part inthe 12th year of a program whose intent is to empower, and thereby unite and continue thegreatness that is New York. Each of the five boroughs of NY (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx,Staten Island, and Queens) ran five 3-hour sessions which were staggered between the monthsof April to June.

FALDEF found itself in the Jackie Robinson Youth Center in Harlem on Tuesday evenings sit-ting amongst Presidents, Executive Directors, officers of organizations who are also deeplycommitted to community service and, tapping resources wherever and however possible. To-gether, under the guidance of their instructor, Emi Wang, they covered materials on how tonavigate city government, organize communities, create a network of community partners,grassroots fundraising, and emergency preparedness. In the interactive learning environment,students found themselves teaching and learning from each other as well.

Having met the required minimum of four workshop attendance, FALDEF was duly recognizedvia the commencement ceremony on June 18th at Emigrant Savings Bank among all the othergraduates. It became a great opportunity to speak a bit about FALDEF to an audience of over200 people who were in attendance. It was serendipitous for FALDEF to have represented theborough of Manhattan to the graduating class on how the program was and what they got outof it.

The Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for MOIA, Ms. Fatima Shama, herself served as master

of ceremonies. She who is of Palestinian and Brazilian heritage, born and bred in the Bronx,

raising her young family of three boys in NY with her husband and, the best of all, being the

first graduate of the same program spoke powerfully and convincingly on the merits of being

involved in this workshop. She shared her journey which began in the dark depths of 9/11. In

dealing and healing the hatred and discrimination that arose from that tragic day, was born this

initiative. Considering one of the lab rats of this program turned out to be Commissioner of

the only Immigrant office in the United States 12 years later, need we say more?

New York City is not a mosaic but a mixture of communities.~ NYC Mayor Bloomberg


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Page 10Volume II, Issue I

Your generous contribution will allow FALDEF to continue to defend, serve, and educate the Filipino-American

community and other migrant communities, which will benefit our society as a whole. FALDEF is a 501 (c) 3 non-

profit organization that was created to empower the Filipino-American community so that they could achieve

their full potential as productive contributors to their families and communities.

We truly appreciate your support.

You can make your donation online (www.faldef.org) or you can fax/mail your to:

FALDEF

4 West 43rd Street, Suite 505

New York, New York 10036

Phone: 212-221-1888 Fax: 212-221-7337

Any questions or concerns please contact:

[email protected]

Your information:First Name: _________________________________ Last Name: ________________________________

Street: _______________________________________________________________________________

City: ________________________State: _____________________ Zip code: ______________________

Phone number: __________________________________________________________________

Email Address: ________________________________________________________________________

Donation:

__ One time contribution of: __ $10 __$25 __ $ 50 __ $100 ____Other $______

__ Recurring contribution of: $___________________________________________

__ Enclosed is a check (made out to Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.)

__ Kindly charge the credit card below.

__ American Express __ Discover __ Master __ Visa

Card holders name______________________________________________________________

Card #____________________________________ Exp. Date ____________________________Signature ______________________________________________________________________

__ This donation is made in honor of: ______________________________________________________

Kindly send acknowledgement of this gift to:

Name: ______________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

__ I give permission to FALDEF to list me as a supporter on their website and other publications.

Documents

FALDEF Newsletter July2013 Vol1