Philippine Consul in San Francisco Jaime Ramon Ascalon counted hugging among “small steps to make a big impact” in nurturing relationships and prompted a chain of hugs that connected the speakers of a recent seminar on building healthier family relationships.
“Scientific studies show that the average person needs at least four hugs a day to survive, eight to maintain and 12 to grow,” said the first keynote speaker at the 6th annual Our Family, Our Future April 28 in St. Robert Church in San Bruno.” Hugging is just my example of how a conscious parental act within the family can do wonders for our society, including the welfare of the elderly.”
Ascalon’s remarks heightened the community spirit at the two-hour seminar and resource fair staged by the all-volunteer community education nonprofit ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares in collaboration Seton Medical Center, Thomasians USA and the Fil-Am Group of St. Robert’s Church.
KTVU Channel 2 news South Bay bureau chief and event co-emcee Lloyd LaCuesta opened his arms to the next speaker, Albert Reyes, president of the Fil-Am Group. KGO Channel 7 news reporter Frances Dinglasan wrapped her arms around keynote speaker San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, who returned the greeting before launching a sobering presentation on elder abuse in the county.   
“Everyone always assumes abuse happens to someone else,” Tissier acknowledged the pervasiveness of the event subject.
The problem will continue to rise and peak in 2030 with one of every four residents of the county being 65 years or older, she quoted from a study by the county Aging and Adult Services.
“We are living longer and the potential to be preyed upon increases with age,” said Tissier.
Recognizing that the perpetrator of elder abuse often is a family member, she singled out elder financial abuse as commonplace and victimizes strangers.
“What can we do to prevent it? We could have more than one person looking over our elder’s finances, visit regularly, learn the signs for abuse, and prosecute those who prey on the elderly,” she said.
The seminar-resource fair program called the community to action on an issue that crosses cultural boundaries.
“In the Filipino community our biggest challenge is that no one will cooperate, understandably,” said Rowland Valladares, a social worker with the county Adult Protective Services. “Maybe because they don’t want that relative to go to jail.”
Valladares cautioned those who suffer in silence hoping situations will right themselves.
“If we think it will get better it will not,” he warned. “The situation will change only if we take action and that’s to call APS and ask for help and support. Because in a situation where there’s abuse, the person who can end it is you (the survivor).”

SERIOUS SUBJECT
In four acts, the Kumares and Kumpares portrayed the most common forms of abuse or actions that injure elders emotionally, psychologically, financially, and physically. Rarely are the forms isolated and often these intersect. The complex effects worsen over time.
The roleplay generated a few chuckles for the seeming hilarity of a situation such as a U.S.-raised daughter’s disdain for the ways of her new immigrant mother who brought her favorite food as a child – dried fish. The reality is that continued insults and references to “backward” or “third-world” taste rankle and shatter the self-esteem of the object of the remarks. Such, explained the annotators, constitutes “psychological abuse.”

In one scenario, a mother unburdens herself to a friend, saying her children for whom she had worked two jobs to petition as permanent residents cleaned out her credit card, started buying luxury goods and now ask that she give them power of attorney over her finances in case she “got sick and died suddenly.” The woman cannot believe what is happening and has lost trust in her own children.
Another scene showed a daughter-caregiver spending a whole day shopping with a friend far from her physically disabled father thinking she has done right to leave him by the phone and television. That, said the annotators, “is neglect,” often unseen abuse.
A skit focused on a woman’s palpable anxiety over making her son wait while she picked up a prescription from her doctor. That was a “red flag” for the attending physician, who noted a bruise on the woman’s arm. The woman minimized the injury and made up an excuse for what might have been unintentional abuse.
“We need to remember that as humans age, their physical and mental needs change as well,” said APS manager Chris Rodriguez. Elder abuse may be unintentional – such as grabbing hard thus leaving a mark – and is never justified.
Rodriguez, who said he drives to Watsonville in Monterey County to see his 93-year-old mother, explained that the elderly tend to “feel guilty” and sensitive about their dependence on their children. For this reason caregivers should watch how they behave toward their elders.  He urged the 150 attendees to call the toll-free helpline for information on resources to help manage attending to an elderly parent.
“The population increases but the number of police officers decreases,” said FALEO president and retired SFPD Sgt. Glenn Sylvester Sylvester. “We need your help to prevent and prosecute the crime.”
The free event opened with 21 resource providers consulting about their products and services. Guests were treated to refreshments from Lucky Chances and other donors. Raffle prizes were drawn compliments of Forex Cargo of Northern California, San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Lucky Chances and Vallombrosa Center, Renee Salud and Philippine Association of University Women.
Drawing what else? More hugs.
For information and to report elder abuse, call: 1-800-675-TIES. PT columnist Cherie M. Querol Moreno is executive director of ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares and member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging.

One of every four residents in San Mateo County will be older than 65 years old 18 years from now. That means anyone who is 47 years or older today will be counted among “older Americans” then.
The increase represents 72 percent, according to official projections by the county boasting the highest concentration of Filipinos in the continental United States. The figure will be replicated throughout the United States with the baby boomer generation – or those born after World War II until 1964 – entering their winter years.
Filipinos will be among those affected disproportionately, being the second largest Asian and Pacific Islander population nationally and locally.
“The two sub-groups of older adults that will experience the most growth between today and the year 2030 will be the Latino and the Asian/Pacific Islander populations,” stressed a policy brief issued by the San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services.
In anticipation of the demographic shift or what some have dubbed the “Silver Tsunami,” the county is preparing policy changes to respond “far beyond what our public and private systems can provide.”
Prevention and preparation are key to healthy aging, gerontologists emphasize.
“Education and awareness are ingredients to best practices and for collaboration among individuals, agencies, and the government on issues that could benefit the aging population,” said Soledad Manaay, a gerontologist and a member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging. “Public awareness on the plight of the elderly may help change people’s behavior, e.g. apathy towards the elderly could turn into advocacy.”
“Education is instrumental in raising awareness of the impending population change so everyone can participate in addressing it,” concurred Erlinda Galeon, a gerontologist and member of the Daly City Library Commission. “We should act right now by organizing events to discuss how the issues will impact our particular sector.”
In commemoration of May Older Americans Month, Galeon and her volunteer group are staged a free seminar and resource fair that defines the collaboration she and Manaay recommend.
The “6th Annual Our Family, Our Future” focused on elder care and prevention of elder abuse April 28, at St. Robert Church in San Bruno. The Fil-Am Group of St. Robert hosted the presentation by ALLICE Kumares and Kumpares in collaboration with Seton Medical Center and Thomasians USA with support from Lucky Chances, Union Bank and other community donors. Television news reporters Lloyd Lacuesta and Frances Dinglasan will co-emcee.
Consul Jaime Ramon Ascalon and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier keynoted the event. SMC Adult Protective Services manager Chris Rodriguez and social worker Rowland Valladares shared experiences working with FilAm families. Retired SFPD Sgt. Glenn Sylvester, president of FALEO Filipino American Law Enforcemement Officer Organization addressed elder abuse as a crime.
PROJECTIONS
Following are some of the projections in ‘San Mateo County Aging Model: Better Planning for Tomorrow’:
* 60 percent of U.S. baby boomers will have more than one chronic disease,
nearly 1/3 will be obese, and 25 percent will have diabetes.
* some 23,300 county older adults in San Mateo County will have
developed Alzheimer’s Disease or a 70 percent rise from present numbers.
* 1 out of 5 people over the age of 65 in San Mateo County will have a
physical or mental disability
The view is challenging and it may also be overcome, explained Manaay.
“Prevention means that people need to be aware of and subscribe to healthy nutrition, activities, exercise and anything good for our body,” Manaay said.  “Often, aging comes with illnesses including dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of memory loss associated with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Lyme Diseases. It is not a pretty picture but they can be avoided or mediated. Sometimes we try to put off visiting our physicians fearful of what they may discover. This is not a helpful attitude. Other times we are in denial of what we have. Again, denying our concerns and issues will prevent us from really addressing them.”
Galeon, who is president of the Daly City referral agency Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center, stressed the benefits of social interaction as remedy for isolation, a common challenge facing the elderly.
“That’s why we have folk dancing sessions that give seniors opportunity to socialize and the youth to discover their ancestral culture,” Galeon added.
Aware that elder abuse comes in many forms, Manaay addressed another prevalent concern.
“Another course of action we could take as individuals is to have a sound financial plan for our post-retirement stage,” she said. “Relying on social security is no longer enough in today’s economy; we need to save as much as we can. Many people see the benefits of buying long-term care plan as care from a private party when you can no longer be independent is expensive.”
For more information on the policy brief and to share recommendations about future policy contact Crispin Delgado, MPP, San Mateo County Health Department,CDelgado@co.sanmateo.ca.us or visit http://www.smhealth.org/hpp.
***
PNews editor at large Cherie M. Querol Moreno is a founder-executive director of ALLICE and member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging.

San Mateo Supervisor Adrienne Tissier is leading the call to action to protect the elderly through policy, engagement and education.
“As the aging population in San Mateo County has continued to grow at a rapid rate, our District Attorney’s Office has seen the number of reported elder abuse cases increase tenfold over the last 12 years,” said Tissier. “We must continue to be vigilant to put policies in place and prosecute those who prey on our seniors, as even a small theft can have an enormous impact on an elderly person on a fixed income.”
Tissier, the board liaison to the Commission on Aging, will join Consul Jaime Ramon Ascalon on behalf of General Marciano Paynor Jr. in keynoting a free seminar and resource fair uniting community leaders, advocates, experts and providers in the field of elder care.
The “6th Annual Our Family, Our Future” will take place 1-3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 28, at St. Robert Church on 1380 Crystal Springs Road. The Fil-Am Group of St. Robert is hosting the presentation by ALLICE Kumares and Kumpares in collaboration with Seton Medical Center , Thomasians USA and Fil-Am Group of St. Robert.
Television journalists and longtime ALLICE allies Lloyd Lacuesta and Frances Dinglasan will co-emcee.
Resource providers from public, nonprofit and community-based agencies will be on hand to consult about their products and services. Kaiser Permanente Filipino American Association will offer free blood pressure and body mass index tests.
St. Robert Pastor Rev. Robert “Obet” Andrey and Fil-Am Group president Albert Reyes will welcome the community.
Tissier is known as a champion for elder rights.
“The senior population is obviously increasing and seniors also are living longer, and therefore driving longer,” Tissier says on her website. “Even if we help just 10 percent of our class attendees avoid accidents, that’s at least 100 collisions and 100 potential injuries prevented.”  
The shuttle services and pedestrian-safe policies seniors enjoy today may be credited to Tissier’s vigilance and leadership as 2008 SamTrans board chair.
Ascalon is fairly new in his post and he has familiarized quickly with his office’s priorities.
“As one of ALLICE’s Kaakbay, the Philippine Consulate General looks forward to taking part in this forthcoming event,” said Ascalon, who was deputy chief of presidential protocol with the Philippine Dept. of Foreign Affairs before assuming his current post almost two summers ago. “This is also in line with the third pillar of Philippine Foreign Policy, which is the protection of the rights and the promotion of the welfare of and interests of Filipinos overseas.” 
Ascalon as family man would speak from the heart at his first Kumares-Kumpares event,
“We continue to support ALLICE’s laudable mission to promote healthy, happy, and harmonious family-living, especially among the Filipino American community,” Ascalon said.
Adult Protective Services manager Chris Rodriguez, a licensed social worker, knows full well the value of information.
“One of the challenges of our work in APS or Adult Protective Services is educating the public and creating an awareness of the problem of elder and dependent adult abuse,” he told this column. “Many people are familiar with child abuse. Most people are surprised that elder and dependent adult abuse exists.”
APS social worker Rowland Valladares will share his experience serving Filipino American families.
A Cal undergrad in Social Welfare with a master’s in Social Work from SF State, four-year APS veteran Valladares complements his expertise with his proficiency in Tagalog and Hiligaynon, a Visayan language.
Glenn Sylvester, president of the Filipino American Law Enforcement Officers Organization will address elder abuse as a crime. He is master instructor for California Peace Officer Standards of Training with a specialty in cyber crime and identity theft.
“This is our first faith-based effort focusing on caring for the elderly,” said S.F. Police Dept. Lt. Randy Caturay, ALLICE 2012 president. “Elder abuse may be intentional or unintentional. There is lack of understanding about what constitutes abuse and that’s our goal: To educate about the many forms of elder abuse to prevent it from happening. For this reason we invite everyone to join us.”
“Our Family, Our Future” is generously supported by Union Bank, Voltaire V. Yap Photography, PAUW – USA, SMC Behavioral Health and Recover Services, Philippine News, Philippines Today and Union Bank.
Free refreshments will be served compliments of Lucky Chances and Moonstar Restaurant, which also are donating gift certificates to be raffled at the end of the program. Other donors are Forex Cargo and Renee Salud.
Corporate security executive Michael Clements and Elsa Agasid, FNP-C, 2012 ALLICE secretary, will sing a song evoking home as a refuge.
ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares include Alice Bulos, Bettina Santos Yap, Edna Murray,; Hon. Erlinda Galeon, Jeannette Trajano, RN; Dr. Jei Africa, Psy D; Jennifer Jimenez, MFT; Hon. Joanne del Rosario; Jose Antonion, Kristine Zafrani Averilla, Lina Susbilla, andLorraine Canaya, FNP-C; Malou Aclan, RN; Paulita Lasola Malay, MFT; Rev. Mark Reburiano, Robert Uy, Esq., Sarah Jane Ilumin, and Susan Roxas.
For more information on “Our Family,” call ALLICE (650)636-4031 (Erlinda), 878-4739 (Malou) and (650)872-2301 (Alice).
Philippines Today columnist Cherie Querol Moreno is founder and executive director of ALLICE. She is a Commissioner with the San Mateo County Commission on Aging that advises the County Board of Supervisors on issues facing older Americans.

Four years ago on April 20, I lost my beloved mother.  I long for her and yet I know she is with me. I feel her presence especially when I’m with my co- volunteers I call Kumares and Kumpares, and more so as we prepare to educate the community on how to care for our elders.
In her name, I joined the San Mateo County Commission on Aging. If I had known what I know now about resources for seniors and their caregivers, my family would have managed better attending to her needs while working full-time. Although my mother was a voracious reader whose other love was prayer that kept her occupied for hours, I ached to leave her alone till I returned home from work.
My mother was my first role model.  She was grace and elegance personified, impeccable in dress, manner, grammar.  She was intelligent and kind, devoted to her family and her faith.
Born to a doctor father and nurse mother, my mother accidentally became a journalist when she lost her father in World War II.  Her father, Dr. Bonifacio Mencias, was the dean of UST College of Medicine, who attended covertly to the guerrilla forces.  He was captured by the Japanese Imperial Forces and never seen again.  My mother later heard he was executed by beheading.
Mommie had to find employment quick to help her mother provide for her five siblings. The high school valedictorian at Colegio de Santa Teresa also topped her Philosophy & Literature class at UST.  She took a secretarial job at a newspaper, but her boss recognized her writing skills and promoted her to reporter, eventually appointing her ‘Women’s Editor,’ an anachronism today.
My mother thrived at an earlier time when women were content to play a supporting role to their husbands.  My Dad was the loud, irrepressible managing editor, my Mom was the refined expert on fashion, society and homecare: She was happy with the identity.
Dad may have been the big personality, the authority on politics and history, the Army major therefore the disciplinarian parent, but the real rock of our family was Mom.  She was my solace in my wretched youth, forgiving, encouraging, assuring that I was loved and all would be well.
She took responsibility of my grandmother even if she had two unmarried siblings, both doctors.  She gifted me with the experience of growing up with two wonderful women (plus my yaya, herself a formidable figure); small wonder that I and my kid sister Michelle have no concept of fear.
Like many teens I tried to be everything my mother was not.  I know now that I was finding myself, looking for my own identity.  I dropped the “Jr.” from my name, threw away my dresses, smoked, drank, to say the least of the experimentation that drove my father to a rage, my mother to prayer – copious novenas and rosaries, that I may see the light.  
Now I find myself becoming more and more like my mom, though tempered by my father’s extroversion.  
I had the fortune of caring for my mother in her final years.  It was painful watching her fade away.  And it was rapture to have the chance to serve her, attend to her on those last days, knowing she could feel my devotion just as she made me feel safe in my rebellious years.
My son learned early the meaning of love, care and respect for our elders because we were a multigenerational household.  Through his demanding master’s studies and part-time job, he religiously took his Lola out on a date on his day off, for a burger-and-milkshake picnic by the lake, finding joy in the season’s flowers, the squawking gulls, passing strangers – appreciating life.  Other elderly cannot even to look out from a window and see the beauty around them.       
My hope is our 6th Our Family, Our Future April 28 at St. Robert’s Church in San Bruno will help bring families closer.  I know that in putting the event together, each of us will have our mothers and our fathers with us, whether they actually are across the ocean or in heaven.
****
Cherie M. Querol Moreno is an award-winning journalist, community educator and volunteer.

“Honor thy father and thy mother” is the fourth of the Ten Commandments, the set of biblical principles forming the basis for Catholicism, Judaism and other Christian institutions. Each group differs slightly in interpreting and numbering the imperatives, which the Book of Exodus says God inscribed in stone tablets and gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
The Fil-Am Group of St. Robert’s Church here is focusing on the Fourth Commandment in the Decalogue to observe Lent and celebrate Easter.
They are collaborating with ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment Kumares and Kumpares in staging a free education seminar and resource fair to promote culturally competent care for elders.
The “6th Our Family, Our Future” at 1-3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 28 will bring together religious and lay workers, policymakers, advocates, therapists and resource providers dedicated to promoting healthier family relationships and communities. Seton Medical Center and Thomasians USA are its principal sponsors.
“The Fil-Am group has been successfully serving St. Robert’s community in the promotion of devotional practices that are intrinsically Filipino,” said church pastor Rev. Robert “Obet” Andrey. “We are always looking to expand our ministries so I am pleased that the Fil-Am Group is joining forces with ALLICE to provide tools and resources to promote healthier family relationships. We always strive to care for the most vulnerable among us so the particular focus on elder care is especially relevant.”
The event is open to everyone regardless of religious or ethnic background.
“We are happy to partner with ALLICE in bringing this seminar to our community,” said Albert Reyes, president of the Fil-Am Group. “Respect and care for the elders is one of our core values as Filipinos, but one that can be easily taken for granted. With this seminar, we hope to be able to elevate participants’ awareness of elder care issues, educate them on available resources and strengthen the family unit and relationships within.”
Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr. and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, board liaison to the County Commission on Aging, will keynote the event.
Adult Protective Services manager Chris Rodriguez, a licensed social worker, will talk about resources. APS social worker Rowland Valladares will share his experience serving Filipino American families. Retired SFPD Sgt. Glenn Sylvester, president of the Filipino American Law Enforcement Officers Organization, will give the legal definition of elder abuse.
KTVU Channel 2 News South Bay bureau chief Lloyd LaCuesta and KGO Channel 7 News reporter Frances Dinglasan will co-emcee the program.
A four-part skit will illustrate how the different forms of elder abuse may occur intentionally and unintentionally, and that it can be prevented by learning and practicing positive interaction.
Health Plan of San Mateo, Human Investment Project HIP Housing, Filipino Mental Health Initiative, Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center and Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center will be among many resource providers represented to address questions from the public.
Free blood pressure and body mass index tests will be offered by the Kaiser Permanente Filipino American Association.
Free refreshments will be served compliments of donors led by Lucky Chances and Moonstar Restaurant. Gift certificates including Forex door-to-door shipment will be raffled after the program.
“This is true bayanihan at work,” observed Reyes. “We have several independent groups coming together, donating time, talent and treasure to put the event together. One of our members asked, ‘Is this really free for the participants? Or will donations be collected at the door?’ It was very gratifying to assure them that this is a true gift to the community, no strings attached. There will even be refreshments and raffle prizes, also free!”
The Fil-Am Group of St. Robert’s Church is composed of Filipino American members of the parish and their friends, who initiate social, religious and spiritual activities to serve the community.
Each year the group sponsors three Filipino-specific devotional practices.
They celebrate Flores de Mayo in May, with children offering flowers to the Blessed Virgin at a special 11:30 a.m. Mass followed by a community reception.
They honor San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first and only Filipino saint, with a nine-day novena held at various members’ homes, culminating with a special Mass on the Sunday closest to his feast day, September 2. A reception follows in the church Hall.
They cap the year with Simbang Gabi, nine days of evening Masses Dec. 15-23 in preparation for Christmas. Reception and fellowship at the Hall follow each Mass, reminiscent of the dawn repasts of bibingka, puto and salabat in the Philippines.
Fil-Am Group members kindle the St. Robert’s School Festival. Their famous lumpia booth is a big fund raising contributor for the school.
“Although the Filipino community is a minority compared to the parish population at large, FilAm members are a visible presence in parish ministries, including participation in the choir and as liturgical servers,” said Sasa Puchbauer, FGSR secretary. “The Fil-Am Group is a very active and committed group of parishioners bound together by a shared vision of building up a Filipino Christian community committed to preserve and share the culture, noble tradition and priceless heritage of the Filipino people with and among our friends and community.”
Those interested in joining the organization may contact FilAm_SR@yahoo.com.
ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares are 20 volunteers dedicated to engage, educate and empower the community.
A diverse organization of people with a united goal, the team is composed of Alice Bulos, Bettina Santos Yap, Edna Murray, Elsa Agasid, FNP; Erlinda Galeon, Jeannette Trajano, RN; Dr. Jei Africa, Jennifer Jimenez, MFT; Jose Antonio, Hon. Joanne del Rosario, Kristine Zafrani Averilla, Lina Susbilla, Lorraine Canaya, NP; Malou Aclan, RN; Paulita Malay, MFT; Lt. Randy Caturay, Robert Uy, Esq., Sarah Jane Ilumin, Rev. Mark Reburiano, and Susan Roxas.
They first staged Our Family Our Future in 2006 upon the invitation of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Consulate General in response to Archbishop George Niederauer’s call to action against domestic violence. Last year they expanded their outreach by collaborating with the Holy Child and St. Martin Episcopal Church in Daly City.
Each seminar-resource fair is a collaborative effort with a new faith-based organization every year. Among its community sponsors are Voltaire V. Yap Photography, Philippine Association of University Women – USA, Philippines Today and Philippine News.
For more information on “Our Family,” call (650) 878-4739 (Malou) or (650)872-2301 (Alice).
Cherie M. Querol Moreno is executive director of ALLICE and a member of the San Mateo County Commission on Aging.

For San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, the Westlake Library relives memories of her mother who was an avid reader and supporter of the institution until she passed away last year.
Fittingly the former Daly City Council member led the March 6 dedication of biographies in honor of Mary J. Tissier at the very library branch that indulged her mother’s love of books and where current and past elected and appointed officials of Daly City and Colma welcomed the local library system’s generous new boosters.
Called Daly City Public Library Associates, the foundation organized to breathe new life into what its board of directors president Al Teglia dubbed the “last cultural center” in town.
Teglia, a pioneer council member who may be the only living resident here with a street named after him, was preaching to the choir.
City Manager Pat Martel spoke of her public service beginnings as associate library director. Library trustee Erlinda Galeon collects books from friends to infuse the system’s diverse collection.
Paula Stillman and Maritess Lagandaon, DCPLA board members, promptly plugged National Library Week on the second week of April, with a 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 9 reading by Cara Black of her novel Murder at the Lantern Rouge at the John Daly Library on 134 Hillside Blvd.
“We organized not just to financially support the system but to provide resources and be the driving force to get the Main Library renovated,” Susan Brissenden-Smith, DCPLA executive director, told this column. Brissenden-Smith and recently-retired library director Carol Simmons last year began picking each other’s brains and worked the phones to lay the groundwork for their passion project.
The March 6 dedication and reception hosted by Al and Fran Teglia launched the DCPLA.
Attendees included Daly City Council member David Canepa, Colma Mayor Rae Gonzalez and her predecessor Helen Fisicaro, Daly City Personnel Commissioner Perla Ibarrientos, Library trustee Dorie Paniza, Olga Annuzzi of Kimco Realty and Teresa Proano of Duggans.
Former Library trustee Kathy Paulsen attended with her grandson Dominic. The two-year-old felt right at home hammering away at the primary-color keyboards in the sunlit computer room.
Mary J. Tissier “would have been proud” to witness the display of solidarity to preserve her beloved refuge, said Supervisor Tissier, who fought in vain to hold her tears.
“Mary and Bert Tissier lived in Daly City forever,” Brissenden-Smith said. “They loved the library – Westlake was their branch – and they were there once or twice a week.”
The town libraries are responding vigorously to the rapid transition both of technology and demographics, said one of its staunchest champions.
“We’ve made a huge commitment for Chinese material as well as Spanish and Tagalog,” said Brissenden-Smith. “We embrace the fact that everyone’s not English-speaking. The latest census shows the changing population – and it’s more than ethnicities – that makes Daly City very rich, vibrant.”
All branches have free wireless access, hence the light staccato on keyboards breaking the stillness as readers bury themselves in their literary medium of choice.
Libraries are perhaps the safest public places around, giving schoolchildren a place to wait for their parents after classes.
Besides books, libraries are the source for free CD and DVD rentals, transport schedules and routes – among copious public information material.
As “owners” of public libraries, residents are urged to support their branch in several ways:
* Make tax-deductible donation to the Library Materials Fund;
* Make a donation of books, magazine subscription or “new and gently-used books “following donation guidelines on the website
* Buy a book from ongoing Library Book Sale
“Use the library,” Brissenden-Smith urges residents. “Come back, check out the new resources.”
For more information, call Susan Brissenden-Smith at 650-224-2356 or email maritess.lagandaon@gmail.com. Cherie M. Querol Moreno is an award-winning journalist, community educator and volunteer.

Filipino American men proved recently that the kitchen also is their domain.
Manila-born Paul Qui, 31, blew away the competition on the February 29 finale of Bravo’s Top Chef a few weeks after Zambales native Lou Diamond Phillips, 50, bagged the crown in Food Network’s Rachael versus Guy Celebrity Cookoff.
The Philippine originals both grew up in the Lone Star State and have a common passion for cuisine, but similarities end there.
Professional chef Qui, grandson of a Chinese adventurer who immigrated to the Philippines, is shy and soft-spoken Phillips, star of such hits as “La Bamba” and “Young Guns,” is a camera magnet: effusive, touchy-feely, prone to quotable exclamations.
Both started out as early favorites to smoke the finales of their respective tilts.
Top Chef ninth season Filipino fans could not have guessed that there was more than one of their own among the 29 “chef-testants.” When Nina Vicente of Spur Gastropub in Seattle was sent packing, few realized that the quiet but consistent purveyor of refined Asian cooking was born in the archipelago.
Filipino viewers who had assumed no connection to Qui took a second look when he described his dish as “adobo” that he had learned from his grandmother, who “cooked it all the time.” A picture of his grandmother flashed on the screen: a typical beloved “lola” in her duster.
“I want to show my parents that I can be good at something,” the executive chef of Uchiko in Austin, Texas, said in earlier episodes.
Qui told of a low period in his life when he indulged in drugs, dropped out of school, and lost motivation to be productive.
Somehow he found his way into the kitchen of a restaurant and under the wing of a nurturing chef.
James Beard 2011 Best Chef South West Awardee Tyson Cole, executive chef of Uchi, recognized and helped realize Qui’s potential.
Qui was on the team behind Cole’s 2008 aspiration for Iron Chef America. When Cole opened his second restaurant Uchiko in 2010, he tapped Qui for executive chef. Wisely so.
Just last month, Qui was a semi-finalist for title his boss snagged last year, perhaps a precursor to last week’s Top Chef results.
The contest kicked off in Texas, with Qui among the local talents along with Sarah Grueneberg, executive chef of a four-star Italian restaurant in Chicago, who proved to be his near-match. But only just.
Qui reportedly was 10 years old when his family immigrated to Virginia. At 17, they moved to Houston. Qui then fell to the lure of the kitchen and moved to the state capital to study at what was once the Texas Culinary Academy, now Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
When the contest came down to five, the venue switched to Vancouver. There, Beverly Kim, executive chef of Aria in Chicago, rejoined the finalists after having beaten earlier cast-offs in the “Last-Chance Kitchen.”
While rivals sniped at Kim’s spirit and “too-Asian” palate, they literally embraced Qui and called him “a friend.”
Qui coolly avoided conflicts between and among the opponents, and seemed to bond with Ed Lee, self-taught chef of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Kentucky.
He showed his organization skills by posting tasks and stations for his finals team, and respect for a peer in his collaboration with Vancouver celebrity chef Barbara Lynch.
Qui bared his sensitive side when he broke into tears upon seeing his mentor at an elimination cookoff, which he won. And then again at the finals when, told that a table of diners wanted to see him ASAP, hugged his parents and girlfriend, leaving no need for a reply to his mom’s “Are you surprised?”
Least taken aback was producer-head judge Tom Colicchio who told Qui moments before the end: “All season long you just brought it,” but then added, “In the end it was about as close as it can get.”
Maybe for that last round. But having bested half of 16 elimination challenges, Qui doubtlessly dominated. He took home the $125,000 jackpot besides a Prius and a trip for two to Costa Rica to learn about sustainable cuisine and extra cash from those nerve-wracking quickfire and elimination challenges.
The Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cookoff debut in January was the perfect ride for Lou Diamond Phillips’ drive to reclaim his former status as a Hollywood A-lister.
The Golden Globes nominee joined Olympic swimming champion Summer Sanders, comedian Cheech Marin, and singer Taylor Dane among entertainers vying to win $50,000 for the charity of their choice.
Phillips never trailed in any of the challenges. His plating and flavor combinations wowed co-hosts Ray and Fieri, who decided his “restaurant” outshone that of rapper Coolio.
The winner’s largesse went to No Kid Hungry, a campaign for online pledges for Share Our Strength.
Newly branded as “LDP,” Phillips sported jetblack mane and bulging biceps. He constantly referenced his Filipino-ness, from the “toyo” that typified his recipes, to mimicking his mother Lucita Aranas’ accent.
That was cause for applause for those who once upon a time snarled when they heard Phillips identify himself as “100 percent Cherokee” on a morning variety show.
Phillips, 50, made a name for himself playing Native Americans and Latinos – even the King of Siam, for which he got a Tony nod. Only Filipino viewers of a little known film he had written would have inferred the identity of his character when he referred to his father as “Ta-tay,” accent on the second syllable.
Phillips’ father was with the U.S. Navy, who reportedly named his son after Marine Gunnery Sgt. Leland “Lou” Diamond, dubbed the “Perfect Marine.”
The family moved to Texas where Phillips, who later took his stepfather’s last name, earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Like Paul Qui, Phillips hit a low point in 2006 when he was arrested for domestic violence in an incident with his then-girlfriend now wife. He was ordered to attend a year of domestic violence counseling and 200 hours of community service.
Phillips took service to heart and became a spokesperson for the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2006, an ideal advocacy for the son of soldiers.
In 2011 he hosted An Officer and a Movie, featuring veterans and their reflections on major battles.
Phillips turned out to have off-camera skills: of championship caliber.
***
Cherie M. Querol Moreno is an award-winning journalist, community educator and volunteer.

Until this week, motorists, pedalers and pedestrians passing through downtown San Francisco’s South of Market district will be confronting a reminder: Domestic violence is NEVER a private matter.
Those who speak Spanish will read: La violencia domestica NUNCA es un asunto privado. Below the statement is hotline for help in abusive relationships.
The Harrison Street billboard is a project of local shelter La Casa de Las Madres, the national organization Futures Without Violence, and the S.F. Domestic Violence Consortium, whose officers held a news conference at the site. Its installation was prompted by a statement made by former Supervisor and now Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who is accused of bruising his wife in front of their 2-year-old son on New Year’s Eve. Both emphatically deny the charges. The trial began Feb. 24.
Victim advocates believe the case opens opportunity for education.
“The billboard is intended to shine a light on what anti-domestic violence advocates consider to be Sheriff Mirkarimi’s inappropriate and disturbingly cavalier response to the charges of domestic battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness against him,” said an announcement on the shelter website.  “Regardless of guilt or innocence, the media spotlight on domestic violence creates an important teaching moment.  Domestic violence remains a deeply misunderstood issue.”
“We need to teach the next generation that violence is wrong, that abusive behavior is not to be tolerated and that there is absolutely no excuse for domestic violence,” said Leni Marin, FWV senior vice president. “We need to ensure the victim’s safety and support witnesses who come forward and report this problem.”
La Casa de las Madres raised $6500 for the two billboards through the internet via a local startup called Loudsauce.
No official was seen at the unveiling.
Mayor Ed Lee, with whom the advocates had met earlier to use his ‘moral authority’ to ask Mirkarimi to step aside pending investigation, called the case “serious” but declined further comment because of potential participation in the judicial process. The same caution was aired by members of the board of supervisors upon recommendation of the city attorney.
“Anything that’s calling attention to the issue of domestic violence is good, but maybe there’s been a reluctance to speak about the issue because we might have to weigh in on it,” newest Supervisor Cristina Olague, whom Lee had appointed to succeed Mirkarimi, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It doesn’t mean we’re not sympathetic to it or sensitive to it.”
Beverly Upton, executive director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, was not impressed by the statement, saying officials may comment on domestic violence as a public issue without directly addressing the Mirkarimi case.
Domestic violence prevention groups in San Francisco have had a long history of collaboration with local law enforcement.
The billboard intends to build on those accomplishments, according to the La Casa de las Madres statement.
“It boldly says that San Francisco will not rewind the clock, that domestic violence is a serious issue. That together, we can counteract the paucity of San Francisco public officials making a stand or taking action to correct the public perception that San Francisco has a cavalier attitude toward domestic violence.”
Marin, a pioneer in the field, put the matter in perspective.
“Domestic violence is a public health issue and public safety issue. It can cause health problems that last a lifetime. Domestic violence is also a public safety issue. It shatters every community’s well-being and its ability to thrive. Victims, witnesses, and bystanders are affected and can suffer pain and loss.” Her remarks delivered at the news conference are reprinted in full in Editorial.
For help in or information about domestic abusive, call La Casa de las Madres Adult Crisis Line: 1-877-503-1850 – statewide, toll free, 24 hours; Teen Crisis Line: 1-877-923-0700 – statewide, toll free, 24 hours; Counseling and Supportive Services: 1-415-503-0500. For a shelter or counseling in your state, call the National Domestic Violence hotline: 800.621.HOPE (4673)

Union City officials want their voices heard in the debate over immigration reform recently rekindled by President Obama in his State of the Union address.
Home of many foreign-born residents, Union City last summer approved a resolution supporting the DREAM Act, the proposed legislation that offers a path to naturalization to undocumented immigrant children.
It took a Filipino American woman, longtime community advocate and current Vice Mayor Pat Gacoscos, to rally her colleagues behind the pending law.
 “I support the DREAM Act and presented it to the City council after conferring with a group of Hispanic students who requested our support, for many reasons,” Gacoscos said. “First, we have a large population of immigrants in Union City. Second, I personally met and heard of Filipino students who were brought here when they were young by undocumented parents including a very bright newly-graduate doctor, an Oakland teacher and many others.
“Most importantly, these students are law-abiding people who are productive and pay their taxes. Some of them are serving in the military.”
Obama acknowledged the need for immigration reform as a priority of his administration.
“Let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country,” he said. “Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship.  I will sign it right away.” 
The president’s exhortation stirred Gacoscos, who said she wishes the same opportunities open to her U.S.-born son and daughter, both professionals.
She said she had followed closely the story of the Cuevas family that uprooted from Union City and returned to the Philippines to start over after authorities learned of their lack of documentation. She said she empathized with Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who last summer disclosed his status in the New York Times to compel officials to take a closer look at and “fix the broken” immigration law.  
“At that time, I had just learned about the case of Jose Antonio Vargas, whose name I mentioned in our meetings as a very good example of why the DREAM Act should be supported,” said Gacoscos. “His message resonated with all of us, documented or undocumented,” she praised. “He is strong, courageous and forceful of his conviction that to be an American, you don’t have to have the papers to prove it.   If you love your country and obey the rules, you are as American as everyone else.  Vargas has a very difficult position personally because it is still possible that someday, he will be deported.  People are divided about the issue, most following along party lines.” 
Local governments can do little more than to support the proposed legislation in principle, though its impact on the community is significant, say immigrant activists.
“We applaud the City Council of Union City for taking a stand in support of undocumented youth,” said Lillian Galedo, executive director of Filipino Advocates for Justice, which has offices in Union City besides its headquarters in Oakland.
“This resolution, mostly symbolic, is another sign that public support for a fair and just resolution to the marginalization of undocumented youth is growing.   FAJ believes that regularizing the status of all undocumented — young and old — is a human rights solution to the displacement of people worldwide.”
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act, re-introduced in May 2011 by U.S. Senators Harry Reid of Nevada, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, would:
* Grant regular lawful permanent resident status at the end of a six year
conditional period, if, during the conditional period, the immigrant maintained
a good moral character, and complied with at least one of the following:
- graduated from a 2-year college or vocational school or
- completed two years of studies toward a bachelor’s or higher degree or
- served in the U.S. Armed Forces for at least 2 years; and
* Grant to states the option to provide in-state tuition benefits to students
regardless of immigration status.
The Union City resolution “encourages the U.S. Congress to pass this legislation and President Obama to sign it into law.” Gacoscos said she hopes “other towns will support the DREAM Act, especially the officials of cities with high concentrations of immigrants.”
Union City ties Carson in Southern California as the town with the third most Filipino residents in California, according to the U.S. Census. Daly City tops the list at 31.6 percent, followed by Vallejo, also in Northern California at 20.7 percent.
Determining the numerical impact of the DREAM Act among her constituents would be a challenge, said Gacoscos.
“To quote the student leader when I asked him,” she said, “most of them are hiding.”   
 Gacoscos was voted unanimously by her city council colleagues to her town’s second highest office in the December reorganization. Among her peers is Jim Navarro, who is running for reelection in November.

Filipino crew members are being hailed for helping save lives in the January 13 cruise ship disaster in Italy.
Some 300 Filipino crew members flew back Jan. 19-21 to their homeland from Fiumicino Airport in Rome, the Philippine Dept. of Foreign Affairs said in a news update.
Among the first to arrive in Manila was seafarer Reyson Cartado. In a video shown by GMAnews.com, he documented co-workers putting others’ safety ahead of their own, inspecting cabins, firmly but respectfully urging passengers to buckle on their life vests and leave belongings behind in the teetering ship.
Rogelo Barcita flew back to Manila still in his kitchen whites, with only a rosary and a Teddy Bear for his two-year-old daughter.
“My gift for her is my life,” said the young father, who, like his colleagues, lost everything they owned.
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Jan. 19 praised the workers for their “heroism” and vowed to assist them with obtaining compensation and new employment.“Costa Crociere S.p.A, the company which owns the cruise ship, assured the Embassy’s Emergency Response Team that it will give full compensation to the Filipino crew members, refund their lost belongings, replace their lost cash, and issue a formal letter of undertaking detailing the company’s firm commitment,” said the DFA advisory.
Vincent Roy B. Martin believed he had the dream job when he signed up to be a waiter onboard cruise ships six years ago.
The opportunity to see the world while getting a paycheck for his growing family was more than he could ask for.
The San Jose del Monte resident knew of risks working on the high seas, but what occupation did not come with hazards?
Martin’s perfect world literally turned upside down January 13 when the Costa Concordia, his workplace and home away from home, ran aground and capsized on the Italian coast off the island of Giglio in Tuscany.
Martin, 35, and his fellow Filipino crew members were lucky to be among the 4,200 on board to be rescued. At press time 21 passengers and crew were still missing including an elderly couple from the United States who had planned for the trip all their lives.
Thirteen fatalities have been confirmed. Four of the dead reportedly were crew from Italy, Peru, India and Hungary.
The cruise ship owners blamed the captain for making an “unapproved, unauthorized maneuver” away from the ship’s chartered course.
Francesco Schettino allegedly tried to display his impressive vessel to coastal residents, consequently hitting a rock that pierced a hole in the ship’s hull. He is under house arrest, suspected of abandoning ship, and faces charges including manslaughter.
The $450 million cruise ship had sailed for the seven-day cruise from the port of Civitavecchia (or Old City) near Rome. The first port-of-call on the weeklong cruise was Savona on the northwestern side or the “knee” of the nation shaped like a boot. Marseille and Barcelona further South were among the stops along the route.
The Costa Concordia carried over 3,000 tourists and a crew of more than 1,000, according to reports. Passengers represented 60 countries, but majority were Italians, French, Germans and Spaniards.
Two hundred crew members reportedly were from India.
The Filipino crew members were rescued and transported to Rome where they reportedly were housed and provided food in a hotel, Martin’s wife Joyce said.
“Vincent Roy and the other Filipino seafarers saved many passengers and assisted them in putting on their life vests,” Joyce Martin said. “They are trained to do that.”
Joyce said her husband told her the accident happened around dinner time, 9:30 p.m., while the ship was leaving port.
Martin said her husband’s employer, Magsaysay Maritime Services, has been quoted in news reports as having pledged to “pay full compensation,” but at press time the crew members had not heard from Magsaysay.
“The Philippine Embassy has given them their travel documents and passports,” she added. “They are appealing to the Philippine government and Magsaysay for assistance.”
PH Ambassador to Italy Virgilio Reyes personally saw the seafarers off from Fiumicino. In Manila they were welcomed home by DFA and Labor officials led by Ricardo Endaya and Enrico Fos.
Despite the experience, Vincent Roy Martin and his colleagues would welcome the same job opportunity, said Martin’s wife, “because it’s hard to find a stable job here in the Philippines.”
The Martins have four daughters, ages 8, 7 and 5-year-old twins.
Cherie M. Querol Moreno is an award-winning journalist, community educator and volunteer. Hazel Vasquez contributed to this report.