books. we're going to make sure that happens. the dream act that was signed by governor brown, which will enable our immigrant students to go on to college and applied for the funding they need to move forward. we had a wonderful celebration with the filipino women's network, he brought forward 100 of our most influential phillipines from all over the country. it was great for them to be about to celebrate here in our beautiful city of san francisco. saturday night, we had a celebration with the filipinos eddy pinay educational partnership, who are our teachers and being trained to come in and remind our students of our heritage and our culture and the beauty of the work in the belief we have in our filipino community. last month, we were able to secure the funding to start our -- to restart our program at balboa high school, with the wonderful support of the united way of the bay area.

these are all wonderful things for us to celebrate, and it is such an honor to work under our first asian-american mayor here in san francisco. and these are too many firsts that have taken way too long for our community. but it is one that we should always celebrate and embrace, because we have so much to be proud of, so much culture to share, and so much of our heritage to remember. on this month, we celebrate. but it is not just this month that we celebrate. this is something that we embrace 355 days a year. because we, as a people, are proud, and it is so wonderful to be a filipina and to be a filipina here in san francisco. we welcome you this evening to celebrate with us. thank you. [applause] >> please welcome chief financial officer here.

>> hello, good evening, honorable mayor lee, honorable commissioners hydra mendoza, and the council general. everybody has talked about that it was only in september 2009 that california state legislature approved the resolution that officially declared october as a filipino american history month. the city and county of san francisco has been celebrating this for seven years. we're fortunate to have partnered with the office of the mayor for the last five years to honor the contributions of filipino-americans to the united states through all of these decades. when we started, we thought we were just broadcasting television content to global filipinos.

but who are these filipinos? we have had the privilege an opportunity to know these filipinos all over the world. north america, the middle east, europe, asia, even africa. the 9 million overseas filipinos are a diverse bunch. migrant workers, young and old, first generation adventuress or their children and grandchildren. despite many differences in their work and their educational background or lifestyles or in their country of residence, the global filipino is much the same. he is taken each -- conscientious worker, an opportunity-seeker, a courageous risk-taker willing to sacrifice for better future for their family. she is resilient and assimilates to the foreign land immediately. but in her heart, she cherishes the aspiration of one the recent -- returning him to the philippines. we are overseas filipinos

ourselves. we live among the global filipinos to make our mission real and our dreams a reality. these global filipinos share their stories with us, the highs and lows, the joys and pains, the sacrifices they have made in the content -- continue to make for their families. and the hopes and dreams that keep them going every day. we're fortunate to be able to retell these stories and are honored to be welcomed into the homes of these global filipinos every night. every day we bring doc, we bring the largest community of filipinos. they laughed together. they cried together. they celebrate the proudest moments of our country together. and/oregon when tragedy strikes, they come together to help those that are back home. we have witnessed the greatness of the global filipino every day. together with you, our community

leaders, we play a very critical role in helping build a strong global filipino community. together, we create the image of the filipino in places where we live. the world's image of the filipino is really in our hands. here in the united states, we have made our mark, whether through our work at the community center, the fight for rights for our veterans of world war ii, or our friends south of market. or, you know, just inserting filipinos in the san francisco lantern parade every christmas. the towards of filipino-american legacy continues to burn brightly as our community renews evarts every year to impact history, society, and culture in san francisco. this year is no exception, and we feel very privileged to be part of distributing to seven organizations that have made key milestones.

the filipino nurses association of california, northern california chapter. the filipino womens' network. the literacy initiatives international foundation. the filipino-american art's exposition. philippine news. the san francisco manila sister city committee. last but not least, the bay area fashion week. we congratulate all the awardees that the certificates of recognition from the office of the mayor, and where most honored to be part of these excellent milestones through our partnership with these organizations. thank you for bringing fame and glory for the filipinos to our community through your work in through your contributions. like modern heroes, you have become the torchbearers for all filipinos. shining your light in who we are, what we're here for, and who we can become. may you all continue to highlight our values, the richness of our culture, and the

honor of our people. we only have one wish for all of us global filipinos -- [ speaking foreign language] wherever we are and wherever we go, let's always remember that we are filipino. [speaking foreign language] [applause] >> and now, please welcome your host for tonight, senate candidate -- san upset -- please welcome your host for tonight. >> good evening, everyone, and welcome to this beautiful venue, the historic san francisco's city hall, as we celebrate filipino-american history month. >> before we continue with our program, we would like to knowledge some of our elected

officials who have joined us here tonight. i saw in the crowd honorable lilly brown. [applause] we have president of the board of supervisors, honorable david chiu. [applause] commissioner dennis normandy. [applause] commissioner mandahar. [applause] commissioner claudine cheng. [applause] and all the members of our consular corps, thank you all for being here. let's all give them a warm round of applause. [applause] >> tonight, we're honoring seven milestones of the san francisco bay area's filipino american the community but these events became our communities benchmarks because of the remarkable achievements. among them, and achievements of

decades of public service, if you first, and events that have significantly impacted our community. tonight, certificates of honor will be presented by honorable hydra mendoza, the council general, and executive kai rodriguez. >> one filipino-american publication has stood the test of time. 50 years of committed service by delivering the news and documenting our history. ladies and gentlemen, philippine news. [applause] ♪ >> truth, integrity, and bold journalism. in 1961, the philippine news was founded in the garage. its vision was to create a community newspaper to tell the stories of the growing filipino community in the united states and to advocate on its behalf. the family took over philippine

news in 1996 and propelled into the digital age, linking over 7 million worldwide sites with their journalism of engagement. celebrating its 50th year, the philippine news published its 2,600th issue on the fourth week of august, holding true and continuing to celebrate their culture. the filipino-american in committee sees this milestone. a legacy of 50 years of chronicling the filipino- american story. >> our next guests are representing philippine news. [applause]

[applause] >> our second honor read is the largest and most formidable national association of filipino women whose recent convention brought hundreds of the most accomplished an influential phillipines into san francisco. ladies and gentlemen, the filipina women's network. ♪ >> later, a teacher, mother, filipina. the celebration of filipino women begins of providing a safe place for all women and girls

and a powering them to achieve their lives purpose. this year, the filipina women's network had eight philippine leadership summits and honor the 100 most influential philippine that american women in the united states. in the golden city of san francisco, where diversity in progress is a way of life. the san francisco bay area filipino-american communities ... milestone, a legacy of innovation, respect, and an unapologetic advocacy for equality. >> representing the philippine a women's network -- and >> may i call the members of the filipino women's network to come on over? this certificate is for all of you. i think most of them are here already. when did the bodies and that the philippine population in the u.s. are filipino women, you can just imagine the contributions to the economy of america and what it is all about.

i want to thank abs-cvn, the council general, and the city of san francisco, mayor lee, for this wonderful honor. thank you. [applause] >> this year, our next honoree broke barriers -- tonight, we honor bay area fashion week. >> over 25 designers, 40 models, and the finest designs,

celebrating our art means celebrating our story. it is a documented, and as our designers showcase, this year we saw the first ever bay area fashion week. the event was made at a charity fashion extravaganza, hosted in the south bay. the san francisco bay area filipino-american communities eludes this milestone, a legacy of art, fashion, and the filipina solis ready to wear. >> here are the representatives of the bay area fashion week. [applause]

>> thank you. ok, let's check out a snippet of this fashion show. >> sounds like a wonderful idea. >> please welcome the fashion. [applause] ♪