The disgust over the unceremonious dismissal of Ambassador Albert del Rosario by Gloria Arroyo last June 13 is no longer confined to Filipino-Americans in Washington D.C. It’s sweeping the Fil-AM community in the whole U.S.A.
Signatories to the revised open letter to Gloria Arroyo include Irene Natividad, executive director,Philippine American Foundation and publisher Greg Macabenta.
Following is the more stinging version of their letter dated June 22, 2006:
We are deeply saddened and outraged that Ambassador Albert del Rosario has been unceremoniously dismissed from his post as the official representative of the Philippine Government to the United States.
The news of his untimely removal was particularly shocking to us, coming as it did at the height of our Filipino American Centennial Celebration. He has played a highly effective and visible role in projecting a positive image of Filipinos in America and in nurturing the historic friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
What is utterly dismaying is the unceremonious manner in which his exemplary service has been abruptly terminated. Common decency and respect require that a head of state treat her official representative with high professional standards.
Ambassador del Rosario has performed his official functions with uncommon finesse even at the most scandalous and incredulous point of your administration. He even defended your positions during those critical times when nobody was sure whether your Presidency will hold or not. He was loyal to his office, to you and to the Philippines even when you faced intense criticism, growing public doubt and withering support.
We are vehemently aghast that despite his loyalty, professionalism and dedication, you chose to treat him so shabbily. Such is simply beneath the dignity of your office, Madam President. What is the rationale of not even affording him a personal call informing him of your action? Instead, you used an underling in what could only be viewed as a cowardly act.
Ambassador del Rosario may have lost your trust and confidence but he will always have ours – along with our deepest affection and respect. And in the true context of governance and public service, the people’s voice and faith are what matter most.
The Filipino American Community ( Partial List of Signatories as of June 23, 2006)
Carl Abella, Washington, D.C.
Pablito Alarcon, Leesburg, VA.
Teresita Alarcon, Lessburg, VA.
Marisol Angala, Pinoy Teachers, Wash DC
Margarita H. Atilano, Falls Church, VA.
Mr. & Mrs. Gregory S. Atkinson, Olney, MD.
Elvi Bangit, Alexandria, VA.
Rey Bangit, Alexandria, VA.
Edgar Aznar, Burke, VA
Evelyn P. Bacani, Germantown, MD
Orlando Barbosa, Herndon, Va.
Dr. Celso S. Barrientos, Rockville, MD.
Pag-asa B. Barrientos of Rockville, MD.
Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, Bowie, MD.
Lottie Buhain, Annandale, Va.
Remedios G. Cabacungan, Arlington VA
Jeanette Calahong, Washington, D.C.
Ramon Calalang, Lanham, MD.
Gloria Caoile, Springfield, Va.
Ellen Carag, Stafford, Va.
Jimmy Cardano Jr. Bowie, Md.
Ador Carreon, Ft. Washington, Md.
Frank Celada, Arlington, VA
Michael Chupeco, Leesburg, Va.
Lito Constantino, Washington, D.C.
Monina Diaz, Fairfax Station VA,
Nilo Diaz, Fairfax Station VA.
Ben & Jen Dichoso, Alexandria, VA.
Celia Pangilinan-Donahue, Arlington, VA.
Thelma V. Estrella, Derwood, Md.
Jovy Eusebio, Bethesda, Md.
Mary Anne Fadul, Herndon, Va.
Alex Fangonil, Gaithersburg, Md.
Naomi Fitzwilliam, EJEWEL,Inc, Virginia Beach, VA
Dr. & Mrs. Tim Gabriel, Hockessin, DE
Bettina Bonnevie Obias-Gancayco, Potomac, Md.
Rodney D. Garcia, Esq., Oxon Hill, Md.
Joy E. Gibbs, Fairfax, VA,
Ding Gomez, Alexandria, VA.
Fely Gomez, Alexandria, VA.
Reme Grefalda, Arlington, VA
Eufrosino A. Guevara, Rockville, MD
Dulce V. Guevara, Rockville, MD
Elizabeth A. Guevara, North Bethesda, MD
Aida P. Hulen, Germantown, MD.
Dr. Valentin T.Ildefonso, PA.
Dan Jimenez, Germantown, MD.
Marilou G.T. Jimenez, Germantown, MD.
Emigdio Lopez, Clifton, Va.
Myrna Lopez, Clifton, Va.
Bambi Lorica, Potomac, MD
Victor Lorica, Potomac, Md.
Greg Macabenta, Publisher, San Francisco, CA.
Ferdie Manibog, Wash DC
Jose Mararac, Waldorf, Md.
Jojo Masanque , Leesburg, VA.
Elvie Melegrito, Kensington, MD
Jon Melegrito, Kensington, MD
Irene Natividad, Exec. Dir.,Philippine American Foundation, Wash DC
Ed Navara, Troy, Michigan
Leonor Garcia-Noblejas, Woodbridge, Va.
Mody Olympia, Fairfax, Va.
Danny Oriño, Washington, DC
Nelly Oriño, Washington, DC
Julian Oteyza, Arlington, Va.
Maurese Oteyza Owens, Arlington, Va.
Art Pangilinan, Arlington, VA
Josephine Pangilinan, Arlington, VA
Johnny Pecayo, Publisher, California
Mitzi Pickard, Fairfax, Va.
Babsie Carag-Quinn, Lake Ridge, VA
Nathalie Bernabe Quion,Vienna, VA
Linda Pirrone, Woodbridge, Va.
Nate Ramirez, Bethesda, MD.
Belen M. Saramosing-Ramirez, Silver Spring, MD
Rodolfo P. Ramirez, Silver Spring, MD
Joy Quejas Risdon, Washington, DC
Annie Rivera, Herndon, Va.
Imelda Roberts, Book Author, Maryland
Castor Salazar, Vienna VA
Ellen Salazar, Washington, D.C.
Sonny Sampayan, New York City
Domingo Samson Mitchellville, MD
Mitos Santisteban, Daly City, Calif.
Albert Santoli, Washington, D.C.
Ike F. Santos, Pres. TAA Foundation,Inc. Baltimore, MD
Cora A. Seballos, Springfield, VA
Larry Silverio, Vienna, VA.
Myriam B. Silverio, Vienna, VA.
Virgie A. Sison, Fort Washington, MD
Felipe C. Solis, Arlington, VA.
Percy R. Solis, Arlington, VA.
Monette Gomez Staab, Rockville, Maryland
Nanette Suyat, Ft. Washington, Md.
Zeny A. Tabligan, Laurel, Maryland
Mya Talavera, Ft. Washington, Md
Bobby Tamayo, Springfield, VA
Richard Tagle, Washington DC
Froilan V. Tiglao, Arlington, Va.
Tito Romulo Tolentino, Fairfax, Va.
Magdalena V, Tolentino, Fairfax, Va.
Christine V. Tolentino, Fairfax, Va.
Johnathan V. Tolentino, Fairfax, Va/
Arnedo S. Valera, Esquire, Arlington, VA
Albert H. Van den Bogaard, Germantown, MD,
Adoracion M. Vidallo, Fairfax, Va.
Annie Cayaban Wilderman, Washington, D.C
(If you wish to be included, please e-mail your name and address to jonmele@aol.com. Feel free to circulate to others in the community. Thanks.)
Ellen,
I hope this continues to finally make the US congress take heed of the
filipinos growing disgust over this pretender.
“Ambassador del Rosario has performed his official functions with uncommon finesse even at the most scandalous and incredulous point of your administration. He even defended your positions during those critical times when nobody was sure whether your Presidency will hold or not. He was loyal to his office, to you and to the Philippines even when you faced intense criticism, growing public doubt and withering support.”
I don’t get the point of this paragraph. Is the Filipino community telling Gloria that they are angry at her for treating shabbily someone who lied and finessed them at a time when any decent political appointee should have handed in his resignation?
If they are all Gloria supporters then I can understand why they are angry – Gloria is removing an effective purveyor of bullshit. But if they are not Gloria supporters then what are they complaining about? They should be rejoicing that there is trouble in Gloria’s camp. They should be looking forward to a replacement that won’t be as effective in spreading Gloria’s propaganda.
Para silang mga ‘hilo’. Galit sila na pinalitan ni Gloria ang isang taong kayang-kaya bolahin sila at ang mga Amerikano. Yun ang gusto nilang ambassador?
Yehey, Mr. Buencamino, in other words, bakit susuportahan ang mga balimbing? Hmmmmm, may katwiran! Still, a protest such as this can magnify the case against the Bansot!
I think most of them are Gloria supporters.
Hi Ellen, Yuko, Manuel, and friends,
Beg your indulgence for a different topic… Been bloghopping leisurely this morning – actually, fiddling with a new laptop (first time I had one, trying to understand how the darn thing works – ain’t got a mouse so it takes me forever to type a line coz I mix up the keys and also, am not used to PCs as I am a Mac adept) while watching the happy, dancing waves of the Atlantic Ocean from my veranda and sipping my almost cold coffee (yuck!).
Almost as if I have no care in the world which is far from the truth but the peace and quiet here in the northwest of France makes one oblivious to the travails of the world.
Anyway, reason am posting is coz I am so thrilled to read Iloilo City Boy’s report that Ghana beat the US in Nuremberg (World Cup)!
Ghana, a 3rd world country, poor and tiny beating a Goliath nation of athletes!
If Ghana can produce first-class athletes, the nation has first-class people. Hurray for Ghana!
The Philippines should take football (soccer) seriously… If Ghana can produce world-class football players, I’m sure the Philippînes could too!
Have those people finally seen the light?
Ellen,
So if they are Gloria supporters , then their letter is really about a group of loyalists who are asking Gloria to prove to them that they will not be treated as shabbily as she treated Del Rosario. They are looking for some sign from Gloria that she is not what they are beginning to think she is. Hilo nga talaga ang mga yan.
Two of the names in the list are familiar to me, and I know they are not Gloria’s supporters. They are in this campaign because Del Rosario has become their friend through the various incentive tours arranged by him to the Philippines.
Like Buencamino, however, I was wary of those trips as a matter of fact. My sister joined one of them arranged last year, and part of the trip was a breakfast at Malacanang, nothing to do with whether or not they supported the Midget, but lo and behold, the following day, Malacanang was announcing that their special group came to the Philippines to show their support for her amidst the Garci tapes scandal.
When I asked my sister about last Christmas when I went to SFO for the holidays, she told me she did not know such kind of thing. She said she went to Malacanang because it was in the itinerary, nothing more!
Now, the question is, how much was Del Rosario’s part in that kind of deception?
Manuel, I think you are right.
Yuko, you sister was correct. Malacañang’s press release was that,the group (another is being organized for next month) was to re-affirm support for her leadership despite the Hello Garci tapes. I’m not sure if Del Rosario was part of the deception or it was just Malacañang’s spin.
If these people are the midget’s supporters, the more damage it can cause. Should they all denounce her, any lobbying on the midget’s behalf will fall on deaf ears. If her support from her overseas support starts to wane, then the more isolated she becomes. I hope htis snowballs into something big. It would certainly hurt this president-wannabe.
So may mganauntog na din ang mga supporters at natauhan.
Ang magiging magandang resulta lang nito ay kung maparating nila ke GMA na nababawasan nag ang sumusuporta sa kanya.
other than that I concur with Schumey!
anna:
Re football
kailangan na magkaroon muna dito sa Pinas ng ala S.League. Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro at Zamboanga lang ata ang mga active dito pagdating sa football.
Itong Lateo(DLSU & Ateneo) ay napanood ko lang sa TV news.
Bilib din ako sa taga English fans, dumadayo pa sa sila ng ibang bansa para makipag-asaran lang!
GO GALATASARAY!!! GO!!!
Gusto ko maglaban Vietnam versus France –friendly match lang 😉
bati na tayo anna, react lang naman kasi ako sa post mo noon dito tungkol sa french foreign legion.
kwento ka na lang dito tungkol sa gendarmerie at seven years war kung saan natalo ang france.
kiss na lang ako sayo… ummm tsup mwah … :)>-
Re: Soccer
I hope someone comes up with a National League. I love soccer and only stopped when I busted both my knees. I do encourage our youth to take up the sport. At present, I help teach kids how to bowl with the help of a Fil-Am, our only lady pro-bowler champ.
I just hope that politics will not ruin our sports associations.
schumey,
Ang mga Europeans pinapakita nila ang nationalism nila sa pamamagitan ng football match. Lalo na ang mga English fans, ayos lang na matawag na hooligans basta “ENGLISH” sila!
Noong 2002 ang pride ng mga Asians ay ang Korea-Japan
Schumey:
Forget it hangga’t andiyan si Tabatsoy. Gimmick din niya iyan. Sa totoo lang, daya ang ginawa sa Asian Games kasi puro foreign born and mga athletes ng Pilipinas na duda ko tuloy iyan lang ang pakay ng Dual Citizenship Law! Kawawa naman iyong mga ipinanganak sa Pilipinas, at natapunan ng mga banyagang pilipino daw!
May kurakot din diyan. Hindi ka sipsip, wala ka rin!
On the other hand, may problema din kami ngayon sa mga athletes namin. May politika na rin siguro kaya talo kami sa Winter Olympics noong nakaraan. Mahirap talaga pag hinaluan ng kalokohan! Ang maganda nga lang sa mga athletes namin ay hindi naman kasing garapal ng mga intsik na kunyari herbal tea, dope pala. Ang galing lumusot!
Please read this for sure makakarelate lahat!
Kung Pinoy Philippines si Noah….
Ganito ang mangyayari sa barko. Read along… ??? .
Taong 2005 at isang ordinaryong middle class pinoy si Noah. Nagpakita sa kanya ang Diyos at sinabing “Pagkatapos ng isang taon ay bubuhos ang ulan Thunder at babahain ang buong kapuluan ng Pilipinas. Gusto kong gumawa ka ng isang malaking Arko at isakay mo rito ang pares-pares na mga Dog 3 Cat, 4 elephante at mga mag-asawang pilipino sa iba’t ibang kapuluan.” Ibinigay kay Noah ang specs ng Arko at taos puso nitong tinanggap ang responsibilidad na sagipin ang sambayanang Pilipino sa napipintong pagbaha.
Lumipas ang 1 taon, muling nagpakita ang Diyos kay Noah. Walang Arkong nagawa si Noah at galit na galit siyang tinanong ng Diyos, “Nasaan ang Arko na ipinagawa ko sa iyo?” Tumugon si Noah, “Patawarin po Ninyo ako kung di po natupad ang utos Ninyo! Nagkaroon po ng malaking problema sa plano po ninyo.”
At inilahad ni Noah ang mga sagabal na nakaharap niya sa pag-gawa ng Arko. Humingi siya ng Mayor’s permit Paper Work pero papayag lang daw si Mayor kung ang gagawa ng arko ay ang construction firm ng kanyang pamangkin. Tumungo siya sa Congressman pero No No No papayag lang daw si Congressman kung may matatanggap siyang 30% commission. Nagtayo ng unyon ang mga kinuha niyang manggagawa at nag- strike.
Natunugan ng mga left-leaning groups ang kanyang balak at ang mga ito Ay nag-rally dahil daw sa hindi makatarungang pagpili ng mga taong sasakay sa Arko (mga taong naniniwala lang sa Diyos ang pwedeng sumakay). Nakisali sa rally ang mga bakla at tomboy dahil bias daw na normal na mag-asawa lang ang pwedeng sumakay.
Ang civil society group ay nakisali na rin sa gulo dahil napag-alaman Daw nila na ang pondong gagamitin sa paggawa ng Arko ay galing sa donasyon ng mga Famous gambling lords at katas ng huweteng.
Sa kaguluhang ito ay napilitang magpatawag ng hearing ang senado “in aid of legislation”. Sinubukan ni Noah na gamitin ang EO 464 para makaiwas sa hearing pero dahil hindi sya executive official, napilitan siyang tumistigo.
Nang malaman ng senado na utos ng Diyos ang pagpapagawa ng arko, Dineklara nila itong unconstitutional dahil hindi raw nito iginalang ang separation ng church Place Of Worship at state Capital Building.
Nakialam na rin ang NBI at PNP at sinabi nilang meron silang Impormasyon na ang Aarko raw na ito ay gagamitin ni Erap sa kanyang pagtakas. Sinabi naman ng ISAFP at DOJ na ito raw ay gagamitin ng grupong Magdalo sa binabalak nilang coup laban kay Arroyo. Nilapitan ni Noah si Mike Defensor para makipag-usap kay GMA. Payag daw si GMA na ituloy ang Arko kung ipapaskil daw sa arko ang malaking mukha ni GMA na may slogan Battleship “Towards a Strong Republic”. “May mga opsisyon na di pumayag kaya hanggang ngayon po ay may TRO ang pag-gawa ng arko.
Sa palagay ko po kailangan ko pa ng 10 taon para matapos ang inyong proyekto.” Ang huling wika ni Noah. Napa-iling ang Diyos at sinabing, “Di ko na kailangang wasakin pa ang bansang ito. Hayaan ko na lang kayong sumira nito.”
Thank you for your time… God bless us!!!
Anna, nakakaingit ka naman: (…while watching the happy, dancing waves of the Atlantic Ocean from my veranda and sipping my almost cold coffee…. Almost as if I have no care in the world which is far from the truth but the peace and quiet here in the northwest of France makes one oblivious to the travails of the world.)
What place in northwest France are you having your vacation?
Manuel Buencamino in Uniffors makes us remember Susette Pido, that woman who shouted “shut up” to Dilangalen when he was pointing out the irregularities in the 2004 election results. Buencamino said, “That was two years ago and, in a way, Suzette Pido’s battlecry became the mother of all cover-ups.”
What could Pido be saying now after the “hello Garci” tapes?
Check out http://www.uniffors.com/?p=214
Hi Ellen,
Hahah! Florry is perhaps in a better place underneath her ampalaya and sili trees coz it’s raining here but fortunately I am in a glass roof and glass-walled veranda or what they call ‘conservatory’ in England, so I can still watch the waves (30 meters from where I am) furiously trying to keep up with the drumbeats of Gotterdamerung! 15°C too but which is actually fine. (I just read that Baguio had a halestorm!!!!! so you guys beat us in that respect!)
We’re in a very old island town called Ile de Batz (and in an equally very, very old 17th century “longgere”, a French term for a long stone house), located in the Finistere region of Brittany in northwestern France. The coast is all of the Atlantic Ocean, meaning no land stop west of where I am -the next land stop is America…
I love beautiful, wild and historic Brittany much more than the southwest of France (French Riviera – Nice, Cannes, Toulon, etc, etc..) and have been coming here regularly for the last few years; people here are wonderful; they are quite simple – not complicated – and extremely hardworking. Fishing is a kind of the main industry here and the “Breton” fishermen are noted in northern Europe as some of the most hardworking and able fishermen in the northern European hemisphere so that shows you the grit of the Bretons.
Thought, I’d link this for more info: http://www.tourismebretagne.com/index_eng.cfm
http://www.tourismebretagne.com/eng/images-bretagne/index.cfm
http://www.tourismebretagne.com/eng/connaitre/index.cfm
Btw, just been to uniffors.com to read Pido-philia by Manuel B. It’s an excellent idea to bring that article out and if Manuel B could supplement that with another piece relating to the forthcoming Gloria impeachment, so much the better.
Anna:
Anna:
Inggit ako! It reminds me of my visit to Brittany with my foster family when I was a student at Oxford U. Ganda talaga!
The mother of my foster mother was a struggling baroness over at Britanny. However, I forgot the name of the place over there but it was also along the shore, and she lived in a small castle. I loved her cooking compared to the lousy meals in UK.
My foster Mom could make good Britanny meals, too. Kaya lang medyo hiya ako and I ate out most of the time. Nagsawa ako sa pasta, and I really missed rice when I was in UK.
Ellen:
I signed up my group to the petition even when it is more a Fil-Am concern. I wrote my sister in the US to sign up, too.
I have the same concern as those of Mr. Buencamino because if I were Mr. Del Rosario I would never agree to work for a crook as a political appointee. It is different, of course, if you are a career diplomatic who is getting a promotion and being appointed to your position on your own merit and not because you are “malakas” for being a “sipsip” that is something that I have hated about the Philippine system, and reason why the cremes of the crop par excellence would like to leave the Philippines and be far from such maddening crowd, be the kind of persons that they deserve to be, and gain respect for what they are and not because of “palakasan” that I tell you can really be exaxperating.
The Philippines has missed a lot of opportunity to be better than its neighbors because of this. I, for one, grew up in the Philippines resenting the thought that if I would not “sipsip” and allow myself to be manipulated and try elevating myself to the same position of those who would manipulate me by learning their ways and hopelessly ending up as another crook like them, I would not be able to go anywhere.
You see, graft and corruption can be contagious. It’s a terrible disease.
Oops, this should read: “It is different, of course, if you are a career diplomatic who is getting a promotion and being appointed to your position on your own merit and not because you are “malakas” for being a “sipsip” that is something that I have hated about the Philippine system, and reason why the cremes of the crop par excellence would like to leave the Philippines and be far from such maddening crowd, be the kind of persons that they deserve to be, and gain respect for what they are and not because of “palakasan” that I tell you can really be EXASPERATING!”
Funny to say, Ellen, that I have become a better person and a Christian in Japan, where majority of the people do not even profess to be religious or believe in the existence of a supreme being called “God,” but I have found the Second Commandment Christ gave to us to be more abided here than in the Philippines, where the people proudly say theirs is the “Only Christian country in Asia”!
In the Holy Scriptures it says, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
I may not see the Japanese to be as religious and as Christians as the Filipinos, but they surely abide by the Second Commandment as when majority of them take into consideration most of the time the welfare and interest of their neighbor so that, for example, when they find something precious somewhere, generally speaking, they turn them over to the police, and the police find the owner.
In the Philippines, despite the fact that 80% of the population are churchgoing Catholics, when you lose something, you just give up hope of finding it for someone must have coveted and stolen it.
Over here, getting something not your own without the consent of the rightful owner is theft! “Finder’s keeper” does not apply here as a matter of fact, and reason why someone like the Bansot would certainly go to jail if she were a Japanese if she did something similar to what she did to Estrada!
This “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”is in Matthew 22:37-40.
Senator Pimentel calls not working for a crook “delicadeza.” My mother says it is a matter of propriety and decency!
In short, those who serve the Bansot knowing that she has thrashed the Constitution and try to cover it up by proposing a new charter and how she manipulated the Commissioners at the Comelec to get additional 1M votes by hook or by crook, do not have delicadeza and decency!
Hi Yuko,
I agree with you. Brittany is indeed a lovely place. You should come visit it again. I am trying to replicate the Breton dishes that they serve here and true, they can whip up a good, solid but fine dish.
I still have to meet Pinoy expats here (OFWs) but have met hundreds of them in the southwest of France. Perhaps, because the Bretons tend to do their own chores, being the hardy people they are.
You said it, Anna. I was humbled in fact by the mother of my foster Mother, a baroness, but boy, she was very down to earth, and tried to make me feel at home and at ease! Walang sinabi iyong princess pretender from Pampanga na may tililing sa ulo!
I loved her apple pie and I asked for her recipe. I am still making such apple pie. But what I liked most was her chicken dish and potatoes!
You bet, I would love to go back. I plan in fact to go to UK this year with my mother. I would like her to see the land of one of her ancestors. If she is apt to go to as far as Brittany, I would like to take that trip. If not, some other time.
You should ask your husband to tell those English boys to go meet the Bansot and do the same rowdiness they are doing in Germany at the World Cups! 😛
nice site