Gearing Up for the 2008 Elections: NaFFAA Launches FilVOTE

March 27, 2007

WASHINGTON—(U.S. ASIAN WIRE)-- With the long-term goal of mobilizing the 1.8 million Filipinos of voting age in the U.S. to go out and vote in local and national elections, NaFFAA is undertaking a nationwide voter mobilization project between now and November next year.

Formed as a non-partisan program, NaFFAA's FilVOTE not only aims to register Filipinos who are American citizens, but to make sure they go out and vote. In the 2004 presidential elections, only 594,000 Filipino Americans voted - a decline of 7 percent because 122,000 registered voters did not cast their ballots. "Potentially, there are 715,000 Filipino Americans, or 40 percent of our total number, who can be mobilized to go to the polls," says Gloria Caoile, co-chair of FilVOTE. "But we need to register them if they haven't done so and educate them on issues that directly affect our community so they will appreciate what's at stake, especially for our children and families."

The two critical issues of importance to Filipino Americans this year are immigration reform and justice for Filipino World War II Veterans. "Our voting power can swing local and statewide elections in our favor," she adds, noting that in 2000, U.S. Senator Harry Reid won in Nevada by less than 500 votes. "Filipino Americans put him over the top because he supported our veterans equity issue." The Filipino population in this state has increased by more than 500 percent in the last ten years. Because of this burgeoning population, politicians are courting their attention more assiduously than ever before. The other challenge, Caoile adds, is to encourage the 29 percent of Filipinos who are not yet citizens. "Although we have the highest naturalization rate among all ethnic minorities, there is still a large number who have yet to become U.S. citizens," she states. "We need to convince them of the benefits of citizenship."

Las Vegas Kickoff

To implement this project, Filipino-American political leaders and activists met for two days in Las Vegas early this month to launch FilVOTE. The intensive training - conducted by Cayan Tapacio, Kathleen Flores and Rachel Bianchi - was the culmination of six months of preparations that began at NaFFAA's national convention in Hawaii last year. Members of the National Filipino-American Democrats and National Federation of Filipino-American Republicans decided to join forces for a common purpose: political empowerment of Filipinos in America. "As a revolutionary once said some fifty years ago, 'A spark can start a prairie fire,'” says FilVOTE co-chair Perry Diaz. "A spontaneous clamor to forge a bipartisan alliance became an instant reality." As a result, a national bipartisan committee of six Democrats and six Republicans was formed. Caoile and Diaz were elected to lead the new alliance.

"Clearly, there is work cut out for FilVOTE to achieve political parity," Diaz asserts. "Indeed, FilVOTE has an exciting and challenging opportunity to register thousands of Fil-Am voters and get them out to the ballot box come election day."

NaFFAA National Chair Alma Kern, who participated in the training, is confident that the nationwide program will accomplish its objectives. "To influence policy-makers, we need to get into positions of power by using our votes to elect officials who represent our interests, or getting elected ourselves," she said. "Political empowerment is about being able to better the lives of people by influencing legislation through our voices and collective strength."

About NaFFAA

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt organization established in 1997 to promote the welfare and well-being of all Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States.

NaFFAA's national office is based in Washington, D.C. Its main function is to monitor legislation and public policy issues affecting Filipino Americans and work in coalition with other national groups around common issues and concerns. In addition, the national office serves as a communications link between affiliate members as well as an information source on federal and legislative initiatives and policies relevant to Filipino Americans.

Contact:

National Federation of Filipino American Associations
John Melegrito
press@naffaa.org
202.986.1153