It was a Saturday morning. A Filipina American of Chinese ancestry was busy handing out window signs and fliers in front of Safeway (Supermarket) on Mission Street, deep in the heart of the Excelsior District in San Francisco, California, one of the areas that encompasses District 11. Recipients were not immediately aware that the face on the fliers and window signs was also the face of the same person handing them out. Many were quite surprised to chat directly with a candidate for political office right in the heart of their neighborhood.
“Goodness, this is you? May I have your autograph?” was a common comment.
The Filipina laughed and responded: “You should give me your autograph instead. You’re more important than I am.”
The first time Myrna Lim ran for Board of Supervisors in the year 2000, all she had was her gutsy attitude in getting things done. Sometimes quite irreverent and always passionate, she debunked some of the traditional Filipino community leaders’ ideas of what a politician should look like and behave.
Here’s a comment from a Filipino gay businessman: “You should dress up like Diane Feinstein.”
Myrna jokingly responded, “Are you kidding? Diane Feinstein would kill to look like me.”
I’ve walked through this Mission Street corridor at least three times with Myrna Lim in the last eight years. I really wanted an “up close and personal” experience with someone who was determined to find out what her district’s needs were so she could become a more effective legislator. Although my feet hurt, I was happy to see old friends as we visited business after business after business… and I also got a realistic sense of the frustrations and shattered hopes of these small business owners because of unreasonable anti-small business policies imposed by the local government.
Myrna Lim did me a favor. I was forced to reach out of my comfort zone (since I’m usually a “virtual” or on-line personality) and hit the streets to get a taste and feel of what residents and citizens of District 11 in San Francisco were thinking, talking, and protesting about. Myrna, I’ve observed, embodies representation of District 11’s multi-racial neighborhoods: Chinese, African-American, Filipino, Irish, Italian, and Latino. Spiritual sustenance is also a strong component in this District, represented by Epiphany Church, Corpus Christi Church, and St. Emydius Church.
Now, it’s 2008. Elections are coming up in November! So, if you have relatives and friends in zipcode 94112 (Excelsior, Ingleside, Outer Mission, Crocker Amazon, and Oceanview), let them know that a Filipina American is running for political office, Myrna Lim for District 11 Supervisor — and that it’s time for Filipinos in San Francisco to be represented. There are 67,000 Filipinos in San Francisco. Help her out! Myrna is fiercely loyal and dedicated, especially to the people who believe in her. She will win. She can do this. And we will be proudly Filipina!
This video showcases the Filipina American that will make it to a much-coveted legislative position (Board of Supervisors) in the City and County of San Francisco. WHEN (I’m optimistic) Myrna Lim wins, she will open the doors to opportunities for more minorities and women — opportunites only available to the old boys and old girls networks. Listen to her speak! And check out the documentaries she produced (as an independent TV producer for Channel 29 and Channel 76, San Francisco Public Broadcasting) at her campaign website, MyrnaLim.com.
Our conversation also touched upon some “whistle blowers” regarding Formula Milk made by Wyeth that is supposed to be recalled in the Philippines. I got the impression from my chat with Nona that birth statistics regarding the contaminated milk have not yet been disclosed, especially the inference about the increased percentage of new-born infants who contracted meningitis. This definitely needs more investigative work — so whoever reads this and is interested can certainly contact Nona.
Continue reading the complete blog posting at my RadiantView.com.
During my travels, I meet many Filipina women who uplift my spirits and inspire me through their magnificent talents, skills, and life experiences as well as their beautiful, caring personalities. When Marily Mondejar introduced me to Faith Rivera, one of my “Summit Weaver”* partners at the 2005 Filipina Women’s Network Annual Summit in San Francisco, it was easy to build rapport with her because truly, Faith is one amazing, inspiring Emmy Award-winning songwriter and singer. She remains grounded and humble in the bling-bling ambience of Los Angeles. When I listen closely to the messages within her songs, I smile and celebrate the truths we share. For those of you who haven’t heard of this lovely Hawaiian-Filipina-American, I invite you to take the time and listen to her songs — and BE PROUDLY FILIPINA (or Filipino)! Faith is also invited to perform at many inter-faith gatherings because her songs are universal and inclusive, acceptable to both the religious and agnostic.
Note: * SUMMIT WEAVER was our FWN term for summit facilitator / emcee.
I’m delighted to hear from Faith, the activist, about her latest projects and activities. I’ve included a couple of my favorite videos for you to enjoy. I also found a YouTube video of Faith Rivera receiving HUB’s Biggest Giver Award. What an honor!
From: Faith
Date: Wed, May 28, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Subject: Press Release - Biggest Giver Award!
To: faith@faithrivera.com
Aloha Friends,
Thanks so much again for the work you are doing in the world - communicating with folks on an on-going basis to offer them inspiration & support!
Attached below is a recent press release on an award I received for an Oprah-style “Big Give” event that I did which raised funds for a homeless family of 6. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had.
Please feel free to share it with your readers/listeners. Also, email/call if you have any questions.
I can’t say enough about this “new life” my hubby & I are embracing to continue to “rock-out” yet give at deeper levels in service to others!
Lorna’s Introduction: FilipinaImages.com’s advocacy blog and news portal would like to showcase more news and stories that impact Filipinas in terms of gender equality and gender mainstreaming — so please let us know what you are doing in your community for Filipina women, wherever you are in the world.
As the Filipina community in the Philippines’ time zone sleeps, here in San Francisco, California, the Filipina Women’s Network’s members and supporters are still waiting for our evening on March 28 to finally arrive. Today, we launch our V-Day celebrations with a film showing of the documentary, “Until the Violence Stops”, and the FWN Annual Vagina Warrior Awards.
We have come a long way from 2004 when FWN started its first Vagina Monologues’ community production. Many in our Filipino American communities have come forward to help out in ending violence against our Filipina girls and women worldwide.
In 2005, FWN published its first Anti-Violence Resource Guide, named V-Diaries, that served as a supplement (to targeted zipcodes in the San Francisco Bay Area) for the San Francisco Chronicle, a playbill for its V-Day productions, and a real helpful resource guide for many of our Filipino families nationwide. It is also available online at FFWN.org. FWN continues to seek sponsorship and advertising for this yearly publication — so please keep this in mind if you are looking at sponsoring FWN’s efforts in helping end violence against our women and girls worldwide.
“Thanks to all of you for choosing the lolas I have been working with, surviving Filipina “Comfort Women” of WWII as one of your beneficiaries for this year’s Vagina Monologues! I have already been working with several of you who are writing their profiles up and highlighting the struggles of their fight for justice and your excitement and enthusiasm has been amazing. I was actually in Quezon City working with the lolas during the time that Eve Ensler came out to interview them. Those same lolas you see in her film, UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS, are the lolas of Liga ng mga Lolang Pilipina. Many have died, but many in their late 80’s and 90’s are still fighting. Your fight, your hard work, your many hours of rehearsal, of marketing this program, of selling tickets and of speaking their words in these programs, are felt by the women of LILA. I am excited to come to SF and NYC to be a part of your productions on their behalf.”
We quote from the 2005 V Diaries, page 23, which explains what “Vagina Warrior” means.
What is a Vagina Warrior?
Someone who has suffered or witnessed violence, who grieved it, transformed it, and then does extraordinary work to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else in their community.
In every community there are humble activists working every day, beat by beat to undo suffering. They sit by hospital beds, pass new laws, chant taboo words, write proposals, beg for money, demonstrate and hold vigils in the streets. These women and men have dedicated themselves toward ending such violence through effective grassroots means. They have been the heart of V-Day since it was conceived as a worldwide movement to empower and enable local activists to raise awareness and funds locally through V-Day benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues.
In order to guarantee a world without violence, in a time of danger and escalating madness, we urged the following Vagina Warriors to come out and join us so together we can continue our work.
IMAGINING A VIOLENCE-FREE WORLD AN EVENING WITH THE 2008 VAGINA WARRIOR HONOREES
What: Presentation and film screening of “Until the Violence Stops”
When: Friday, March 28, 6:30 p.m.
(reception at 5:30 p.m., courtesy of Ramar Foods)
RSVP: Online, go to http://morgan08.eventbrite.com
or Call 415.278.9410
Where: AP Giannini Auditorium, Bank of America Building
555 California @ Montgomery, San Francisco, CA
Who:
- Anna Lisa Enrile PhD, National Chair, GABnet; Professor, USC School of Social Work
- Ken Marquis, Senior Director, V-Day FWN; Team Manager, George P. Johnson Company
- Ken Theisen, Justice & Courage Oversight Committee Member; Advocate, Bay Area Legal Aid
- M. Evelina Galang, Filipino American Coordinator, HR 121; Asst. Professor, University of Miami
- Mona Pasquil, Board Member, My Sister’s House; Vice President, MSHC Partners
- Nenette Flores, Accounting Officer, San Mateo County
- Sonia Delen, Senior Vice President, Banc of America Leasing
- Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye, Justice, California Third District Court of Appeal
FILIPINA WOMEN’S NETWORK TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR STRONGER SENTENCING OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIMES
What: News Conference
When: Wednesday, March 26, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Hotel Monaco
501 Geary Street @ Taylor Street, San Francisco
Who: Filipina Women’s Network with Eve Ensler, author and playwright of “The Vagina Monologues,” and founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls.
Attending:
- Marily Mondejar, President, Filipina Women’s Network
- Eve Ensler, author, playwright of “The Vagina Monologues,” and founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls.
- Beverly Upton, Executive Director, San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium & Partners
- Marivic B. Mabanag, Executive Director, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
- A Filipina Survivor of Domestic Violence
San Francisco - March 21, 2008 - Spurred by a recent San Francisco Superior Court decision to reduce the sentence of a man convicted of murdering his wife, the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) will launch a campaign on Wednesday, March 26, to ask state legislators to close the “special circumstances” loophole responsible for the reduction.”As the law stands today, a man who kills his wife will receive a lesser sentence than a person who commits murder during a rape or robbery,” said FWN President Marily Mondejar.
“Why should a domestic violence case be treated as less important under the law? We need to change the law to send batterers away for a long time so that women in abusive relationships feel safe about coming forward.”
On Friday March 14, members of FWN were in the courtroom when San Francisco Superior Court Judge Jerome Benson reduced a jury’s first-degree murder verdict in a domestic violence case to second-degree murder. William Corpuz was convicted by a jury in May of last year for slitting his wife’s throat. Although Judge Benson said the murder of Marisa Corpuz, mother of two, was “a bloody, brutal, gruesome and savage killing,” he stated that he had no choice but to reduce William Corpuz’s sentence to second-degree murder because the evidence did not support a finding of deliberation. Judge Benson explained that he was constrained by limitations in California’s laws on homicide to rule as he did.
“What started as a grassroots campaign in the Filipino community has now become a statewide initiative to make California a safer place for women and girls,” said Eve Ensler, author, playwright, and founder of V-Day. “We need more groups like the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) to mobilize communities, saving lives, one woman at a time. It makes a world without violence truly possible.”
In addition to working with California State Legislators to change this law, FWN will launch a FWN V-Day 2008 anti-domestic campaign to build awareness, which will include performances of “The Vagina Monologues,” as well as a Tagalog language version of the play which translates to “Usaping Puki,” and the new show, “A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer.”
FWN will hold four V-Day benefit performances in San Francisco with an all-Filipino cast. Since 2004, FWN engages the Filipino community through the V-Day shows. “The Vagina Monologues” in Tagalog “hits home” and helps FWN in raising awareness and outreach.
For the fifth year since these US-based Filipina women started this social justice project, Filipina Women’s Network continues to honor the Vagina and Puki in ending violence against women and girls worldwide. M. Evelina Galang, the Filipina Comfort Women of World War II’s advocate, a.k.a. Friends of Lolas, is expected to be in San Francisco during one of the events.
9-11 in New York was rainy and damp — yet the fashionistas had a field day! A Filipina designer, Monique Lhuillier, showed off her Spring Collection at Bryant Park on Fifth Avenue. Her parents, especially my role model (with a warm, welcoming personality and down-to-earth aura to complement her business ventures and philanthropic advocacies) Amparito Llamas Lhuillier, must be beaming with pride. Yes, we’re happy too! That’s because Monique is a true-blooded Cebuana (o.k., French and Spanish with cultural roots in Cebu). Someone asked me (by e-mail) if Monique is proud of her Filipina roots, and I replied, “All the time!”
Who better than a Filipina American friend to tell us her story — for first timers, vacationers, eco-tourism aficionados, or homesick travellers to the Philippines? When I received Carol’s e-mail a few months ago, I was so fascinated by her “talk story” that I just had to ask if I could feature her e-mail as the first travel diary to be showcased at RadiantView.com.
If you chanced to click on the Filipina Images link from Timothy Elllis Cumper's (alias Tim Cumper, Ellumbra) sites, please read the true story of the Tierra Maria Estates Scam Hoax or Mayen's story AND judge for yourself. Justice to the Filipina! Save our Filipinas from Exploitation.
Who better than a 
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