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Thursday, July 11, 2024

New York PCG Hosts Inaugural Pistahang Bayan to Celebrate Kalayaan 2024 with the Filipino Community

Performers at Pistahang Bayan 2024 captivate the audience with traditional Filipino music and dances (Photos by Sherlyn Roxas)


NEW YORK 
– The Philippine Consulate General in New York brought a vibrant slice of Filipino culture and heritage to the US Northeast, with the first-ever Pistahang Bayan celebration on 30 June 2024.  Held at the Lincoln Park in Jersey City, this landmark event, co-organized with Filipino community leaders, drew over 3000 Filipinos from across the region.

 

NYPCG personnel assist applicants with essential consular services offered during Pistahang Bayan 2024 (Photos by Sherlyn Roxas)


Jointly organized by the Philippine Consulate and leaders of various Filipino Community organizations in the Northeast United States, Pistahang Bayan 2024 kicked off with a Community Mass, setting a reflective yet joyous tone for the day’s festivities.

Festival attendees delight in a salu-salo that includes Filipino favorites such as lechon, adobo, lumpia, menudo, Jollibee chickenjoy, as well turon and Filipino rice cakes. (Photos by Photos by Joselito Archie P. Paz and Sherlyn Roxas)


Consul General Senen T. Mangalile, in his welcome remarks at the opening ceremony, expressed appreciation for the community’s active participation and efforts to bring the gathering to fruition. He emphasized the importance of unity within the Filipino community. “The objective is simple,” he stated, “to foster unity among us as people and as a community. Now more than ever, that should be the resounding call.” He further highlighted that the event marked the culmination of the month-long celebration of the 126th anniversary of Philippine Independence and Nationhood.


Participants of Palarong Pinoy foster a sense of joy and camaraderie while engaging in traditional fiesta games during Pistahang Bayan 2024. (Photos by Joselito Archie P. Paz)

The Philippine Consulate provided consular services under the banner of Bagong Pilipinas, a flagship program of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The services offered included overseas voter registration, passport, dual citizenship, civil registration, and notarial services.


Meanwhile, the festival’s attendees enjoyed a Filipino salu-salo— a traditional feast that showcased a rich spread of Philippine culinary delights, ranging from the crowd-favorite lechon to the sweet delights bibingka and halo-halo shared among members of over 50 participating Filipino community organizations.


Players of basketball and volleyball tournaments showcase teamwork and competitive skills during their respective games (Photos by Joselito Archie P. Paz)

The event was enriched by a series of captivating performances that celebrated the rich heritage of Filipino music and traditional dances. A diverse lineup of artists took to the stage, each offering a glimpse into the Philippines’ vibrant cultural tapestry. In collaboration with the Migrant Workers Office, and in celebration of Migrant Workers’ Month, the festival also included a singing contest dubbed “Galing mo OFW”. This segment shone a spotlight on the remarkable vocal talent and artistic flair of our OFWs, providing them with a platform to shine and share their artistry with the rest of the community.

Consul General Senen T. Mangalile delivers his remarks during the Pistahang Bayan 2024 Opening (Photos by Sherlyn Roxas)


What is a fiesta without games and sports tournaments? During the Palarong Pinoy portion of Pistahang Bayan 2024, kids and those who are kids-at-heart played traditional fiesta games such as pabitin and hampas palayok. Happening simultaneously in the sports area are friendly basketball and volleyball tournaments, and a five-kilometer fun run, organized for Filipino athletes and weekend warriors, bringing the community together in an energetic display of skill and sportsmanship.


Mr. William O'Dea, a member of the Hudson County Board of Commissioners who had also played a role in organizing the event, congratulated New York PCG and the Filipino community on the inaugural Pistahang Bayan 2024. He also pledged his continued support for future celebrations. (Photo by Sherlyn Roxas)

“What a fiesta feeling!” said Marivir Montebon, a past president of the Fil-Am Press Club of New York and a long-time resident of New York City. “[Pistahang Bayan 2024] had an overwhelming attendance… from NY, NJ, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, etc. There was free Filipino food, games, and dance presentations. The communities felt very much at home during this fiesta.”


Pistahang Bayan 2024 highlighted the significance of common cultural customs in uniting the diaspora and enhancing community bonds. It was more than just a celebration of Philippine independence and nationhood; it was a demonstration of the enduring cultural pride that binds the Filipino community together.



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Mayor Adams Celebrates Historic $2 Billion Investment in Affordable Housing, Total 10-Year Capital Commitment Reaching Record $26 Billion in Fiscal Year 2025 Budget


Announcement Follows On-Time, Balanced, and Fiscally-Responsible
 $112.4 Billion Adopted Budget That Invests in Future of New York City

Historic Investment Comes as Adams Administration’s Addresses Housing Crisis with “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” Proposal to Produce as Many as 108,850 New Homes Over 15 Years 


NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday, July 2, celebrated an on-time, balanced, and fiscally-responsible $112.4 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Adopted Budget that addresses the city’s affordability crisis head-on and invests in the future of the city and the working-class people who make New York the greatest city in the world. The budget specifically invests $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) capital budgets. In total, the Adams administration has committed a record $26 billion in housing capital in the current 10-year plan as the city faces a general housing crisis. The historic investments support the Adams administration’s “moonshot” goal of building 500,000 new homes by 2032 and its commitment to transforming NYCHA. Finally, the announcement comes as the Adams administration is advocating for passage of the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” the most pro-housing zoning proposal in New York City’s history that will help build “a little more housing in every neighborhood.” 


On Sunday, the City Council voted to pass the FY25 Budget. After Friday’s announcement, New Yorkers from across the city, including housing advocates, praised the budget for its wide-ranging investments that help protect public safety, rebuild the economy, and make New York City more livable.  


“Despite facing unprecedented challenges, our administration and the City Council passed a collaborative budget that addresses the issues that cost New Yorkers the most, including housing,” said  Mayor Adams. “Together, we are investing a historic $2 billion in capital funds to HPD and NYCHA, bringing our total investment in affordable housing to more than $26 billion — a new record level. We must throw open the doors to new solutions and housing in our city to keep New York a city for everyone. With these investments, we are going to build to build a city that is more affordable, and that provides opportunity and security for all.”


"Investing in affordable housing is an absolute priority for the future of our city," said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. "This additional $2 billion in funding for preserving and building affordable and public housing is a huge win for our community, and we are grateful for our partners in the City Council for recognizing how important housing is for all New Yorkers. Our administration is committed to our expansive housing agenda. With the ‘City of Yes for Housing Opportunity’ and combined with this significant investment today, we are confident in our trajectory to increase housing opportunities for all New Yorkers.”   
  
"Making good on our promise to increase affordable housing, support cultural institutions, and invest in libraries, we have funded and restored critical services for New Yorkers thanks to responsible fiscal management,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “With an additional $2 billion in funding for affordable and public housing, we are building off our legislative wins in Albany, advancing our pathbreaking ‘City of Yes’ proposal, and continuing to demonstrate how Mayor Adams is the most pro-housing mayor in our city’s history. We thank the City Council for their partnership and shared commitment to improving the lives of all New Yorkers through this year’s budget process.” 


The $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 will deliver $700 million towards NYCHA, primarily to support PACT and Public Housing Trust projects. These extensive renovation projects will result in critical upgrades and improved conditions for NYCHA homes and campuses. Recent PACT projects include updates to units, such as redone bathrooms, kitchens, and new flooring; as well as upgrades across properties, including updated heat and hot water systems, refreshed building entryways, free WiFi, and enhanced security systems. The scope of specific updates for properties are developed through engagement processes involving NYCHA residents.  


The remaining $1.3 billion will support HPD programs that focus on preserving and building new affordable housing, supportive housing, and homeownership. At a time when low vacancy rates and high housing costs underscore the need for affordable housing, this investment will result in the construction of new affordable homes for lower-income households, create more supportive homes for those who can benefit from on-site supportive housing, offer the opportunity to build generational wealth through access to affordable homeownership, and fund preservation work to improve housing quality, enabling tenants to stay in their homes. 


Thanks to the Adams administration’s ongoing strong fiscal management, which was bolstered by better-than-expected revenue growth, the administration overcame unprecedented challenges in this budget cycle to stabilize the city’s financial outlook and close a $7.1 billion budget gap. Now, because of steady, decisive decision making, this Adopted Budget allows the Adams administration and the City Council to reinvest in initiatives and programs that make New York City more affordable and that address the three things that cost New Yorkers the most — housing, child care, and health care — and invest billions of dollars of city resources in critical areas, including early childhood education, cultural organizations, parks, public safety, housing, health care, and more. 


Through a set of carefully crafted zoning changes, City of Yes for Housing Opportunity will increase overall housing supply across the five boroughs. DCP released the draft environmental impact statement of the proposal, which estimates it could produce as many as 108,850 new homes over the next 15 years. The proposal includes lifting arbitrary and costly parking mandates for new residential construction; the Universal Affordability Preference, a bonus allowing roughly 20 percent more housing in developments, as long as the additional homes are permanently affordable at an average of 60 percent of the area median income; transit-oriented development and Town Center zoning, which would allow three-to-five story apartment buildings to be built near transit and along commercial corridors, respectively; and allowing homeowners to add accessory homes like backyard cottages. 


Additional proposal components include facilitating conversion of non-residential buildings like offices to housing; re-legalizing small and shared housing models with common facilities like kitchens; allowing development on large lots known as campuses that are today limited by outdated rules from using existing development rights; and creating new zoning districts that would allow more housing, including mandatory affordable housing, that had previously been restricted by state law. City agencies are also advancing a slate of related, non-zoning efforts to guide implementation of the proposals, such as rules for HPD’s administration of the Universal Affordability Preference, as well as technical assistance and financing tools to assist homeowners who want to add secondary homes onto their properties. 


In addition to City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, the Adams administration is using every tool available tool possible to address the city’s housing crisis. Mayor Adams and members of the administration successfully advocated for new tools in this year’s New York state budget that will spur the creation of urgently needed housing. These include a new tax incentive for multifamily rental construction, a tax incentive program to encourage office conversions to create more affordable units, lifting the arbitrary “floor-to-area ratio” cap that held back affordable housing production in certain high-demand areas of the city, and the ability to create a pilot program to legalize and make safe basement apartments. 


Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, the city financed a record number of affordable homes in 2023 and is ahead of schedule on a 2024 State of the City commitment to advance two dozen 100-percent affordable housing projects on city-owned land this year through the “24 in ‘24” initiative. Mayor Adams has also taken steps to cut red tape and speed up the delivery of much-needed housing, including through the “Green Fast Track for Housing,” a streamlined environmental review process for qualifying small- and medium-sized housing projects; the Office Conversion Accelerator, an interagency effort to guide buildings that wish to convert through city bureaucracy; and other initiatives of the Building and Land Use Approval Streamlining Taskforce


City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is the third of the Adams administration’s three “City of Yes” initiatives to update New York City’s zoning for a more sustainable, prosperous, and affordable city. The first — “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality”— was adopted by the City Council last December. The second — “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity” was adopted by the City Council in June.  



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Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Opinion: 'OMW' Sees Biden as Debate Winner; Former Sen. De Lima Reveals Plans After Winning Cases; PIDCI and PAFCOM Did it Again for Love of Native Country By Manuel Caballero

Lambert Parong

ON MY WATCH

By MANUEL L. CABALLERO


"OMW" SEES BIDEN AS DEBATE WINNER; FORMER SEN. DE LIMA REVEALS PLANS AFTER WINNING CASES; PIDCI AND PAFCOM DID IT AGAIN FOR LOVE OF NATIVE COUNTRY


"On My Watch" (OMW) closely monitored the presidential debate tonight.


OMW picks Pres. Biden as the winner.


The debate should be judged not by how the words were said, but by what words were uttered. Were the words factual or mostly lies and exaggerations? Never mind if the voice was husky as long as the words were truthful.

Former Pres. Trump engaged in "sweeping generalizations", most of which, I believe are lies and self-centered. Some national media commentators felt the same way I did.


My university English professor used to say that sweeping generalizations are unproductive and mere propagandas.That it is dangerous. In modern times, disinformation.


If Mr. Trump's claims against Mr. Biden were true, the incumbent US president would have been worse than PH former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.


To us, former president Trump sounded like a Duterte troll, at times, during the debate.


As the "Washington Post" observed, Mr. Trump deflected the questions. He evaded answering almost every question by talking about another subject.


***


In an interview with Rappler after her acquittal from all charges, former Sen. Leila de Lima revealed four things:

1. She has no plans to run for public office in the 2025 elections.

2. She will assist ICC in its crime against humanity case vs. Duterte and company. She will also assist in running after those who commit human rights abuses under the BBM administration.

3. She has forgiven those who prosecuted her except Duterte.

4. For complete vindication, she will file charges against those who wrongly and falsely prosecuted her, including former pres. Duterte.


***


Congratulations to Arman David   and company of PIDCI and Maricar Taino  and fellow PAFCOM officers for another year of successful PH Independence events in NY and NJ.


The 3rd wave of Filipino diaspora has taken over the leadership from the 2nd wavers.


Speaking of parade and Independence, I wish to cite an observation. J Ariel Q Aggabao and 

Amira Allahh , parade announcers in NJ last Sunday, did a good job together. They should always be together. They can't  be independent of each other. 


***


Again, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte was proven wrong and perhaps,  simply vengeful, with the acquittal of former Sen. De Lima of all charges brought against her 7 years ago when Duterte was chief executive. One by one, the wrong and irresponsible acts and decisions during the Duterte administration are being reversed or voided.



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Filipino Innovators Spotlight AI Achievements at New York PCG Forum

Filipino AI professionals and enthusiasts share their insights during the panel discussion at the ‘Advancing Filipinnovation’ forum. (Photo by Sherlyn Roxas)


The Philippine Consulate General in New York hosted “Advancing Filipinnovation: A Forum on Filipinos Shaping the Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” on June 24 at the Philippine Center in New York. This event featured significant Filipino contributions and leadership in the rapidly evolving field of AI.

 

In his welcome remarks, Consul General Senen T. Mangalile emphasized the importance of innovation and the pioneering role of Filipinos. He stated, “AI represents a fundamental shift in how we interact with the world and revolutionizes industries. It is crucial that Filipinos are not just participants but pioneers in this rapidly evolving field.”

 

The forum’s speakers shared their experiences and insights on various aspects of AI. Ms. Angela Mascarenas, Co-Founder of Vokel AI and The AI Furnace, discussed deepfake detection for AI voice fraud and misinformation. Mr. Ryan Carl Yu, Product Manager at Google Cloud AI, shared insights on the intersection of data science, business strategy, and product management. Ms. Michaela Ternasky-Holland, XR Director and Creative Strategist, explored socially and culturally impactful stories using immersive and interactive technology. Mr. Gary Reloj, CEO and Founder of Masaya.io, highlighted modern digital narratives and his entrepreneurial journey. Mr. Prince Gregorio, Communications Officer at UNICEF, shared his experience participating in the Microsoft Artificial Intelligence Challenge, where his team won the grand prize.

 

The panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Gregorio, covered the panelists’ aspirations for the future of AI and the leadership roles Filipinos can undertake in this field. They addressed the ethical use of AI, ensuring responsible advancements with broader societal impacts, and examined AI’s potential repercussions on the Philippines’ BPO industry, including necessary adaptations for industry sustainability. The discussions also emphasized the critical role of governments in AI regulation, balancing innovation with ethical considerations and public safety. During the open forum, the audience posed insightful questions about AI’s impacts on various sectors, such as human resources, journalism, and media, and its potential use in the upcoming U.S. elections.

 

The forum marked the third installment of a series of gatherings on Filipinnovation organized by the Philippine Consulate General in New York, in partnership with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in New York and Mr. Earl Valencia of the National Innovation Council of the Philippines. This series aims to showcase Filipino talent in global innovation and underscore the importance of technological advancements. 


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Friday, June 28, 2024

"Courage, Determination, and Bayanihan Spirit Define Us As a People" - Amb. Romualdez

Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez delivers a toast during the 126th Philippine Independence Day special reception for Filipino Community partners.


WASHINGTON D.C. – The Philippine Embassy proudly celebrated the 126th Philippine Independence Day with a reception specially organized for several Filipino community leaders and partners on 12 June 2024 at Philippine Embassy Chancery Annex, a historic and national landmark, located along Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. This significant event commemorated the country’s proclamation of independence from Spanish colonial rule on June 12, 1898.


Local vocal powerhouse Raina Chan performs a medley of Filipino songs and other pop culture numbers at the Philippine Embassy.


The reception was an evening filled with cultural pride, reflection, and unity. Distinguished guests, community leaders, and members of the Filipino community gathered to honor the rich heritage and achievements of the Philippines. The event featured a keynote address by Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez and video messages from Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo.


Ambassador Romualdez leads the singing of the Philippine National Anthem during the Philippine Embassy’s 126th Independence Day reception.


Ambassador Romualdez stated, “As we celebrate our independence, we are reminded of the courage, determination, and bayanihan spirit that define us as a people. We are inspired to continue their work in our own unique ways, always striving to uplift one another and our communities as we build a brighter future together.”


The community listens to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s 126th Independence day video message.


He also expressed gratitude to the community leaders saying, “I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to YOU, the members of the Filipino community in the DMV and the Caribbean who are here tonight, for your unwavering support of the Embassy and its activities. May we be inspired to continue promoting unity, cultural pride, and active participation in shaping a better future for our communities both here and in our homeland.”


A special cultural performance by local Filipino-American vocalist, Ms. Raina Chan, featured Filipino music and pop culture. The Philippine Independence Day Reception was a memorable evening that honored the past, celebrated the present, and looked forward to a prosperous future.



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