Filipinos take a bow

LOS ANGELES – Manila is known as the capital of the Philippines. Quezon City is the largest city in Metro Manila. Makati is the business and financial hub. But how much do people know about the City of Marikina, aside from it being the shoe capital of the Philippines?

"We have been promoting tourism in the city and we have been trying very hard to make the city grow into a tourist hub," said Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando. "We have the World of Butterflies that we opened last year, and the Shoe Museum. There are quite a few tourist attractions that people can visit. We also have the revived river park where we hold the Night Market and Christmas Festival every yuletide season. It’s something that people all over the world can come and visit when they come home to the Philippines."

With the aim to promote the City of Marikina, Mayor Fernando flew to Los Angeles to attend the Uliran Awards 2005. Uliran Awards is a yearly gathering of the Filipino-American community in Los Angeles to celebrate and recognize the Ten Most Outstanding Filipino and Filipino-American men and women who serve as positive role models in the community – those who struggled and those who made something out for themselves.

The fund-raising event that also featured a beauty pageant was founded by one of the most successful Marikeños in Los Angeles – salon owner Monet Lu.

"This will be for Alab ng Puso Foundation. And of course, the mayor of Marikina, Marides Fernando, will be here to receive not just an award, but also a small token of our hard work. Bibigay lang natin para ma-share ko naman sa mga kababayan kong taga-Marikina," Lu said.

Mayor Fernando was the recipient of this year’s Uliran Awards for Excellence in Public Service and Governance. In her speech, she made a comment about the current situation in the Philippines.

"I’m here today despite the turbulent times in our country. Two days ago, I wasn’t even sure if I could make it to this affair. I’m very happy that the situation has normalized in our country. And I’m proud to say that we are part of the supportive staff of our President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," Fernando said.

In a separate interview, she added that people should stop spreading division and instead focus on unity and supporting President Macapagal-Arroyo: "There were some turbulent times but I think we’re over the hump and we’re on our way towards recovery. If Filipinos would just stop their bickerings and selfish agendas and just focus on work towards the country’s economic recovery, we’d be much better off."

Aside from some political remarks, the mood of the party was, in all, jubilant and very encouraging.

"We’d like to encourage other Marikeños who are here in California, in other parts of the United States, or in other countries around the world to excel in whatever trade or craft they have chosen. This brings pride to our community. And I hope we will be encouraging them by being here and being part of their programs," Fernando added.

Among the awardees waa another product of Marikina, jewelry designer Emma Yambao-Tiebens of Bella Gemma Jewelry. Tiebens makes custom-made design jewelry not only for the Fil-Am community, but also for the mainstream market. To her credit, Bella Gemma recently became the featured jeweler for Orange County (OC) Magazine. She was also featured in the OC Register, a publication considered to be the Los Angeles Times of Orange County.

Realtor Chris Mallari was given the Award of Excellence in Brokerage and Realty Management. The 29-year-old is president of Fil-Am Financial. From a single business location, his seasoned hands paved the way to the blossoming of two more branches. Talk of three more branches in San Diego, Riverside and Sacramento are in the offing, as he also tries to branch out to Asia.

Concert producer Ana Co-Puno of Starmedia was given the Award of Excellence in Concert Production. For years she has successfully entertained the Fil-Am community with sold-out shows such as the Martin Nievera-Regine Velasquez concert series; The Songbird and The Songwriter, which featured Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid; Queens on Fire, which showcased the vocal prowess of Velasquez and Pops Fernandez; and many more.

It was a memorable evening, one that will always be a part of the rich history of the Fil-Am community here in the City of Angels as Lu announced that Uliran Awards 2005 was going to be the last after existing for 10 years.

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