The idea came from a request of Don who was the first to blog about the Tierra Maria Estates Scam outside of FilipinaImages.com. He wanted to hear her side of the story. Lorna, a co-founder of FilipinaImages.com also suggested that an interview is a perfect opportunity to talk to a Filipina who has used a dating site. The interview was not intended to clear Tierra Maria Estates, as the victim is clearly Mayen. Unlike most of us, Mayen does not have the financial resources to use the internet or even blog about it. Like Don, I was keen on hearing her side of the story.
100% Pinoy interviewed me for a segment on “Modernong Maria Clara” that was aired Thursday, April 24, 2008. The episode talked on the image and the evolution of Filipino women.
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
Tomorrow, March 29 at exactly 8 PM, let us all join the world-wide event Earth Hour. Let us participate in making a statement against global warming.
We invite everyone to turn off the lights and unplug the electrical appliances at home, in the office, anywhere! We are doing this to save energy. We are doing this for the environment and most especially, for our children.
Here in Manila, major cities are joining the Earth Hour. Both private companies and the government are supporting this event.
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.
Date: Saturday, March 29, 2008 Time: 5:00- 6:00 PM Venue: “Women Can’t Wait”, SMX Convention Hall # 3, SMX Convention Center, beside SM Mall of Asia, Bay Blvd., Bay City, Pasay City Map to SMX Convention Center: Click on thumbnail
This is our tentative program for the March 28 event, 11-12nn
1. Opening Remarks
2. About Vibal Foundation
3. Empowering Women Through Internet
4. Walkthroughs: Filipiniana.net and Wikipilipinas.org and Filipinaimages.com
5. Raffle iPod Nano to contestants
6. Announcement of Winners
7. Closing
Wikipilipinas will host lunch for the contestants in a restaurant in Mall of Asia after the program.
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.
Dine and I just went live at 8:00 AM on She-ka, a TV magazine aired over National Broadcasting Network (NBN). Isa Litton, the host asked how the Filipina campaign started.
The following is a speech I delivered today (written by co-founder Lorna Dietz) at the Helena Benitez Global Forum on Women, Power and Sustainable Development at the Manila Hotel. Together with co-founder Dine Racoma, we talked about the Filipina Images advocacy to local women leaders from different local government units nationwide such as mayors, vice-mayors, vice-governors, Board members etc. The occasion was the 1st International Seminar and Partnership Consultation on Gender Justice and Sustainable Development in celebration of International Women’s Month Celebration.
Good morning to everyone here today who are taking time out from their busy schedules to celebrate this launching of cyberspace tools for success — for Filipinos, about Filipinos, and by Filipinos — wherever they are in the world.
This is what I would like to do today for our topic, “Using Technology in Uplifting the Image of the Filipina.”
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.
Dine and I just went live at 8:00 AM on She-ka, a TV magazine aired over National Broadcasting Network (NBN). Isa Litton, the host asked how the Filipina campaign started. 
Good morning to everyone here today who are taking time out from their busy schedules to celebrate this launching of cyberspace tools for success — for Filipinos, about Filipinos, and by Filipinos — wherever they are in the world.
Entries (RSS)