Filipino American retirees
They discuss Philippine and American politics. They argue which are the best approaches to “solve” the problems of the Philippines and America. Like most Filipino Americans, some of them are diehard Republicans and some are diehard Democrats. Some are for Aquino, Villar and Teodoro. Definitely not for Erap.
In West Covina where I reside, there is a donut shop where they congregate. But their favorite meeting place is under a magnolia tree near Seafood, a Filipino-owned grocery. This, by the way, is just one of the chain of groceries scattered all over California. In this location are other Filipino establishments ranging from restaurants to gift shops. But this will be another story.
When the sun is out which is often in West Covina these seniors bring their chairs, a table and sometimes a portable stove to cook their “polutans” or merienda. This usually happens when one of them is celebrating a birthday. They occupy a parking space which is not legal but nobody brings it to their attention. I guess people just like to see them congregate. They have an informal name which is “Under the Tree Cub”.
Pictured in this page are a few of the retirees on a chilly weekday. There are many more of them on a weekend. They are from Cebu, Iloilo, Bulacan and Manila. They live around West Covina.
There are only 30,000 registered Filipino voters in the U.S. With 46 million registered voters in the Philippines, the 30,000 will not make a dent in the election results. Still these retirees under the tree are passionate about their politics. But aren’t all Filipinos passionate about their politics?
In the United States, Filipino Americans have attained successes in elections. The highest position that a Filipino American has attained is that of Governor when Benjamin J Cayetano was elected in Hawaii. Others have been elected as Congressman, Mayor and Councilmen. So far nobody has yet been elected Senator. Gene Canque Liddell became Mayor of Lacey, Washington; My friend and fellow Atenean Tony Cartagena became Mayor of Walnut, California. There’s Congressman Steve Austria of Ohio and many more.
And that’s as far as I know.
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