I lost another well-respected hero in my life last night, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Frank Tibon, I will miss you. I promise that the work that you have done on behalf of the community will continue to be recognized.

Manong Frank was part of the Filipino Political Action Committee (FilPAC), which was integral in getting Filipinos their own check box on demographic collections. This meant that Filipinos were not counted in the very general Asian label. It meant that more meaningful information could be collected about Filipinos, including graduation rates, college attendance rates, etc. He often talked about speaking to then-State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Wilson Riles, changing his personal views from Filipinos being politically unimportant to being a power as a democracy-believing and politically active Filipino community.

He was a former president of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), to which I was installed as treasurer on Saturday. The least I can do now is serve FANHS in the way that Manong Frank would want, with honor and integrity.

If your $25.00 could change someone's life for the better, would you loan it to them?

That's the basic premise behind Kiva, a microloan organization. They facilitate microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Check them out at http://www.kiva.org. The best way to describe it is through an example.

Ni Komang Murni is a farmer in Indonesia. She needs a bull (male cow) in order to harvest her crop. She is asking for a $500 loan in order to purchase a bull, and double her harvest output. She is hoping to use the increased harvest and income in order to pay for her two pre-school children's schooling when they start.

A field partner evaluates Ni Komang's needs and determines the level of risk of the individual. For example, a person that has experience on a farm is less risky than someone that is new to the farm. In this case, the field partner considers Ni Komang a low risk person, takes her picture, and goes back to their office to upload her picture and story.

Someone else on Kiva may see the post and loan them money, in $25 increments. Why only $25? According to Kiva, they have so many donors, that $25 is all it takes, and they can have a person fully funded in 3.9 hours. I also think that $25 is not an unreasonable amount to loan out.

I also want to emphasize that it is a loan. These people pay back the loan! Sure it may take a year, but Kiva boasts a 100% repayment rate. No body has ever defaulted. These are individuals that really use the money positively and appreciate the loan so much, they ensure that the amount is paid back within the designated time.

Go ahead. Make a loan. Change a life.

A Pinay won the first episode of American Gladiators! Her name is Venus Ramos. Go look her up on her own Web site at http://www.docvenus.com/. Unfortunately, I could not find her on the American Gladiators Web site at http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/. This is probably because she was a last minute replacement for Jessie Foster, who was injured in the very first event and could not continue with the rest of the competition.

She showed a lot of heart during the competition and moved with urgency throughout the competition. Her never say die attitude really paid off. She mentioned that her parents came across an ocean to come here, so although I am not sure that she is of Filipino descent, I am pretty confident in my assessment.

Life is peaceful. Death is peaceful. It is the transition that is hard to deal with.

Another day and three more deaths to report. My hope is that this trend does not continue. However, there is no stopping death. Even the greatest technology in the world can only postpone it.

I read about the nephew of a Pilipino Youth Coalition (PYC) leader in Vallejo, Brylan Jacob Eliapo Yra, who "was born into Heaven, December 29, 2007." See, he had not been born yet, but the doctors found that his heartbeat could not be detected during a pre-natal checkup. My thoughts and prayers are with the Yras.

I also received a text message from a Chi Rho Omicron, Inc. (XPO) brother regarding the cancer-related death of his uncle Eliseo Bito Montemayor, Jr. This death hits the fraternity broadly, because Uncle Eliseo is also the father of a Founding Brother of our Epsilon Chapter and a Founding Brother of our Zeta Chapter. I met Uncle Eliseo many times, the last being on the night of our XPO formal, in San Francisco. He was playing with his band, The Young Once (pronounced kind of like "ones"), and he was rocking it. He loved music, and shared that love of music with his two sons and wife, and anyone else who would listen. One story of his is that he used to play with Santana, and left the group to take care of his family. I shared the stage with him once at eXplorasian 2, a talent showcase produced by XPO and Chi Delta Theta. We performed a cover of The Eagles' "Hotel California," which was a hit. He played the guitar solo superbly. That was definitely a highlight in my life. My thoughts and prayers are also with the Montemayors.

As I was looking in The Sacramento Bee obituaries for any information on the services for Uncle Eliseo, I ran across a familiar name-Cirillo Orille. I clicked on the obituary and read it, and knew that it was him when it read, "He was preceded in death by his wife Anita." Anita and my mom were friends, two kidney transplant recipients, bonding in the shared experience of a life-saving surgery as well as their Filipino heritage. Anita and Cirillo were artists, and I still have a painting that they matted for me in my room. Anita and Cirillo were my mom's good friends, and I often benefitted from that friendship. I remember having to design some flats for a theatre show, and they lent me an image projector, so that I could trace the image onto a large pieces of butcher paper. Since I do not have an artistic nor creative bone in my body, that one tool went a long way. It was an example of how having the right tools for the job make the job so much easier. Of course, I will also never forget the huge persimmon tree in their backyard, and the many persimmon that they gave my mom and me. My thoughts and prayers are with the Orilles as well.

I would like to be able to write about something different, but remembrances like this are so important. It is a great opportunity for me to encourage everyone to share their love with those who they hold dear to them, and to take advantage of every opportunity, because one never knows when this mortal life will end. As they say, Bahala na.

It is a somber feeling that comes over me when I hear that an elder has passed away, even if they have lived a long life. Early yesterday morning I heard that another veterano passed away. My Rizal Lions Club and the Association of Filipino American War Veterans (AFAWVet) will be having a memorial for him on Saturday.

Last night I read an e-mail that Uncle Mel's father passed away. Uncle Mel, as a moral leader in our community, has done a lot for my peers and me that are interested in Filipino culture and history. At 101, Manong Nazario lived a long life, a good one by many standards. Uncle Mel spoke and wrote of him regularly, and although I only met him only once, I knew his life through Uncle Mel. As I shed tears for the Orpilla family, my prayers go out to them. You can read more about the services on the Orpilla Web site at http://www.orpilla.com/index.html.

There is a kinship that I hold with these individuals. Part of it must stem from my position as a caretaker of my lola, who at 89 is my last direct family member. However, most of it is founded in my respect for them and their lives. I believe that people only walk the earth if they still have some sort of purpose to fulfill, a goal to accomplish. Once they have succeeded in doing that, their time expires. Furthermore, my Roman Catholic religious beliefs direct me to look at death as a transition from life on earth to life everlasting. In my own view, it is a reward for fulfilling their destiny.

For the Veteranos, thank you for defending our freedoms and giving is so much to be proud. I promise that the day will come that the United States will fully and equally recognize you for your services to the U.S. To Manong Nazario and the rest of the Manongs, thank you for working so hard to contribute to the success and prosperity of this nation that we live in now, and providing us so much to inherit. Finally, to all the historians and activists, thank you for not allowing us to ever forget what really matters, even when TMZ would rather we worry about which stars were paid to host New Year's Eve parties.

Hope springs eternal. Happy New Year! Will he see full equity? If I have anything to say about it, he will. Will you join me?

http://www.pacificmagazine.net

90-Year-Old Veteran Becomes First U.S. Citizen In '08

Tuesday: January 01, 2008

A 90-year-old Filipino veteran of World War II, who fought alongside U.S. forces, was the first person in 2008 to become a naturalized American citizen, the Pacific Daily News reports.

Francisco G. Flores, who was captured by Japanese forces and forced to take part in the infamous Bataan Death March, took the oath of citizenship this morning at Guam's War in the Pacific National Historic Park in the village of Asan.

A resident of Pampanga, Philippines, Flores flew to Guam for the citizenship ceremony.

Flores became a U.S. citizen under a law that allows Filipinos who served with U.S. forces in World War II to become citizens. He first applied for citizenship in 1991, but the U.S. Army only recently was able to provide documentation to show that Flores served in the military.

http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/80101007