National Federation of Filipino American Associations​

Logo - NaFFAA_high rez

For Immediate Release: October 1, 2016

National Chair also calls for vigilance in ensuring fair depiction of Filipino Americans in the media

 Washington, D.C.

“As we celebrate Filipino American History Month, let us reflect on our many achievements and contributions to our nation’s cultural, social and political life,” said NaFFAA National Chairman Brendan Flores. “While we have made many gains as a community over the years, we need to continue amplifying our voices and asserting our presence by actively participating in our country’s electoral process.”

Flores notes that there are nearly 4 million Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the U.S. today, constituting the second largest Asian American and Pacific Islander group in the country. “But voting rates among Filipino Americans continue to be low,” he said. “And we are still poorly represented in state and national legislatures.”

To address this challenge, NaFFAA launched it’s FilAmVote program early this year, with the goal of increasing voter registration and voter participation in this year’s national elections. NaFFAA has also partnered with APIA Vote to bolster outreach to APIA communities across the country.

 

Denouncing Asian Stereotypes 

“But even as we hail the progress we’ve made, we continue to be concerned about the way our presence is perceived in the American mainstream and in the media,” Flores states. “I’m referring to recent news reports that NBC had put in development a comedy show about a mail-order bride from the Philippines.

“In a culture where we continue to strive for diversity and inclusion, NBC will be taking us many steps back if the network moves forward with this show. The last thing we need is a prime time television show that objectifies an Asian woman to be married off, via a catalogue, to a man she doesn’t know. That isn’t comedy. It’s called human trafficking and it’s simply unacceptable.”

Flores notes that “as of 2014, the International Labor Organization estimates there are 4.5 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally. It is abhorrent that in 2016, we would allow for a company to promote and produce a show that perpetuates Asian stereotypes and human trafficking as an acceptable form of entertainment.”

A growing public outcry against NBC has reportedly forced network producers to cancel the project.

 

Need for cultural awareness

“While we commend NBC’s decision, this is not the first time NBC has made light of Asian stereotypes,” Flores said. He recalled that in 1994, the NBC sitcom “Frasier” included an offensive joke about purchasing a mail order bride from the Philippines. Then Philippine Ambassador Raul Ch. Rabe protested to NBC executives, denouncing the joke as “racist and sexist.” In his letter, he wrote that “Our people are not chattel.” Rabe added that the Philippines passed a law in 1991 banning the mail-order bride business and other similar practices.

In 2007, ABC was forced to apologize for disparaging doctors trained in the Philippines in an episode of “Desperate Housewives,” after an on-line petition led by Filipino American author Kevin Nadal drew more than 50,000 signatures. ABC also removed the offending episode from all its platforms. In condemning the racially-biased and culturally insensitive remarks, NaFFAA pointed out the need for cultural awareness training among Hollywood writers, producers and actors.

“We appreciate the leadership of various individuals and organizations who alerted us to the ‘Mail Order Family,’ which NBC was considering to produce,” said Flores. “We join this collective effort in denouncing any programming that presents insensitive and disrespectful images of our communities.”

GABRIELA USA, a grassroots-based alliance of more than 200 organizations advocating for Filipino women, condemned NBC for “exploiting women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds as perpetuated by the mail order bride industry.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Affiliates issued a statement expressing their outrage over the network’s consideration of a show that “perpetuates the fetishization and commoditization of Asian women,” and “trivializes the predicament of women who are bought and sold into the sex slave trade or into abusive relationships with men they’ve often never met.”

“The cancelation of this show is a result of the collective efforts of leaders nationwide with the Filipino-American community’s best interest in mind,” Flores said. “This is a positive example of a unified message and its powerful impact.”

 

Honoring Filipino World War II Veterans

“This month is also an occasion to acknowledge the support of U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives who have cosponsored a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to our Filipino World War II veterans,” Flores said. NaFFAA is among a number of national organizations pressing Congress to once and for all recognize the vital role Filipino and American veterans played in defending the Philippines and the United States during World War II.

In July, the Senate passed the bill, S. 1555. A companion measure in the House, HR 2737, has gained the support of 306 cosponsors to date, more than the two-thirds required.

“We are calling on Speaker Paul Ryan and the House leadership to take immediate action, secure House approval and send it to the White House for President Obama’s signature,” Flores said. “We owe it to our veterans, who have waited for more than 70 years.”

Flores adds: “We want to keep their stories alive so that their legacy of courage and uncommon valor will always be remembered and cherished by future generations of Americans. We also take pride in the vital role Filipino Americans continue to play in the American labor movement, the healthcare and education systems, arts and entertainment, business and politics, science and technology and other fields that enrich America’s landscape.

“Indeed, this time of celebration is an occasion for all Filipino Americans to rededicate themselves as citizens actively engaged in moving our country forward.”