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NaFFAA was born out of a meeting between West Coast
and East Coast Fil-Am leaders in New York in 1997. The then Philippine
News Publisher Alex A. Esclamado, TLC Beatrice CEO & President Loida
Nicolas Lewis, nationally-acclaimed Guitarist Michael Dadap, and San
Francisco State College Board President Rodel Rodis were talking over
dinner about how to unite the 3,000 Filipino American organizations
all over the country. The four decided it was time to convene a national
conference and forge a common agenda for empowerment and Mr. Esclamado
volunteered to lead the effort. On August 1997, over 1,000 delegates
representing various Filipino American organizations across the United
States held the first National Filipino American Empowerment Conference
in Washington, D.C.
Spurred by the conference theme "Panahon Na!", Filipino American
community and youth leaders, seniors, veterans, civil rights activists,
and Filipino American elected and appointed officials, addressed four
major issues: immigration, affirmative action, welfare reform, and equity
for Filipino World War II Veterans. To dramatize the urgency particularly
of the last issue, delegates marched to the White House on the first
day of the conference, led by hundreds of uniformed Filipino veterans,
to demand "equity now." For the first time, the veterans issue
became a national campaign for justice.
At the 2nd empowerment conference held at the Marriott Wardman Hotel
in Washington, D.C. on October 16-18, 1998, delegates unanimously ratified
NaFFAA's Constitution & By Laws, formalizing in effect NaFFAA's
organizational structure. Elected to lead the federation for a 4-year
term were Alex A. Esclamado, National Chair; Gloria T. Caoile, National
Vice Chair; Klaus Buntua, Treasurer; Rodney Salinas, National Youth
Director. Greg Macabenta was appointed Public Relations Officer while
Jon Melegrito was re-appointed National Executive Director. NaFFAA's
national board, which includes representatives from ten regions, was
also formed as the organization's highest decision-making body.
NaFFAA convened its Third National Convention at the New York City Hilton
& Towers on October 15-17, 1999. Hosted by the Eastern Region and
chaired by Loida Nicolas Lewis, the convention's theme "Filipino
Americans Leading the Way to the Millennium" affirmed NaFFAA's
vision of establishing a solid and powerful presence of Filipino Americans
in the United States. Its keynote speaker is no other than First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton. NaFFAA National Chairman Alex A. Esclamado summed
up the First Lady's appearance on a historical note. "Hillary Rodham
Clinton becomes the first White House resident to honor the Filipino
American community with her appearance as Keynote Speaker at a public
function in the entire 412 years of presence of the Filipino in America.
As a community, we have finally earned a seat at the table of power.
The recognition given us by the First Lady should propel NaFFAA to greater
heights in its struggle for national unification and empowerment of
Filipino Americans in all facets of American society."
NaFFAA moved its agenda of empowerment forward when it held the Fourth
National Convention at the Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas on September
28 – October 1, 2000. Hosted by the Southern California/ Las Vegas
Region and chaired by Rozita Lee, the convention's theme "Making
Our Power Count" affirms NaFFAA's vision of establishing a solid
and powerful presence of Filipino Americans in the United States. After
the Las Vegas conference, Jose Montano, Jr. became the Executive Director.
The Las Vegas event was followed by the Fifth National Empowerment Congress
in San Jose, California from August 28-September 1 which was chaired
by Ben Menor and had as its theme “Forging a National Consciousness
as a Filipino Community in America”. During that “Y2K2 Conference”,
Loida Nicolas Lewis was elected to lead the Federation as the National
Chair, with Greg Macabenta as National Vice Chair, and Liz de Guzman
as National Youth Chair. A revised Bylaws was adopted and the regions
were reorganized. The 6th Empowerment Conference in Chicago led to further
refinement in the bylaws as well as amendment to the constitution to
further define membership and youth participation in NaFFAA. Hosted
by Ed Navarra, Midwest region chair and organized by the Chicago community
led by Thelma Fuentes, Jerry Clarito and Yoly Tubalinal, the September
10-12 conference lived up to its theme of “Bridging the Fil-Am
Community”.
Aware that the Fil-Am community is only a part of the Filipino diaspora,
NaFFAA also convened a series of networking conventions to bring the
global community together. The 1st Global Filipino Networking Convention
was held in San Francisco immediately after the “Y2K2 Conference”
in 2002 and was mostly attended by Fil-Ams. The 2nd global convention
in Manila in December 2003 started to bring in delegates from other
countries. The 3rd global convention was held in Cebu in January 2005
and was truly a global conference in terms of attendance. Issues of
importance to Filipino immigrants and OFWs were discussed.
NaFFAA has grown into what it is today – an organization that
is recognized by Washington policy-makers, private industry and national
advocacy groups as the Voice of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans throughout
the United States. It is a non-partisan, non-profit national affiliation
of more than five hundred Filipino-American institutions and umbrella
organizations. Its twelve regions cover the continental United States,
Hawaii, Guam and the Marianas. Its mission is to promote the welfare
and well-being of all Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the
United States by fostering unity and empowerment.
National Office and Leaders: NaFFAA’s national
office is in Washington, D.C. Its main function is to monitor legislation
and public policy issues affecting Filipino Americans and work in coalition
with other national groups around common issues and concerns. In addition,
the national office serves as a communications link between affiliate
members as well as an information source on federal and legislative
initiatives and policies relevant to Filipino-Americans. NaFFAA is governed
through a Board with national, regional, and youth representations.
The National Chair is Loida Nicolas Lewis and the founding National
Chair is Alex Esclamado. The National Vice Chair is Greg Macabenta,
the National Youth Chair is Dexter Ligot-Gordon, and the Chief Operating
Officer and Chief of Staff is Armando “Doy” Heredia.
NaFFAA moves its agenda of unity through its National Empowerment Conferences
every even year (the 7th one will be in Hawaii in September 2006), and
through its Regional Conferences every odd year (regional conferences
will be held in 2005). NaFFAA will continue to convene the Global Filipino
Networking Convention (the 4th global convention will also be held in
Hawaii in September 2006).
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