Education and Visibility

Ms. Stella Piscano, Queensborough Rotary Club President; President-Elect Mario Dalman; fellow Rotarians; dear guests and friends of Rotary: good morning.

Thank you for inviting me to your meeting today. It is one of Rotary’s pleasures to visit other Clubs, and I am doubly delighted that today I am able not only to visit but also to address you. You are the first Rotary Club in the United States that I have visited, and I hope this visit will not be the last.

I have been a member of the Rotary Club of Manila since 2021, the same year I became a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Manila or RCM as we fondly refer to it, is the first Rotary Club in Asia, having received its Charter, Charter No. 478, on June 1st, 1919, a mere 14 years since Rotary was founded, and seven years since Rotary had gone international. The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, RCM organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). In 1939, the Rotary Club of Guam, was organized as RCM’s first overseas daughter club. From all the RCM daughter clubs came all the other Rotary clubs in the Philippines to date.

Throughout its 103-year history, RCM has pioneered various projects covering the whole spectrum of the five avenues of Rotary service. Among the organizations established by the Club are the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Community Chest Foundation, Philippine Band of Mercy, Philippine Cancer Society, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Philippine Tourism Association, Philippine Rotary Pacemaker Bank Foundation, Sagip-Kabataan (Save the Children) Foundation, RCM Eyebank Foundation, several school and community-based Rotaract and Interact youth clubs, and many others. In 1979, Rotary International began its historic fight to end polio with its first polio immunization project in Makati, a city outside of Manila.

Right now, RCM and other Rotary Clubs in the Philippines have commenced preparations for a massive event, the Rotary International Convention in 2028. Yes, it will be held in the Philippines, most likely at the SM Mall of Asia Arena and SMX Convention Center. It would be the great pleasure of Filipino Rotarians to welcome Filipino-American Rotarians to the 2028 RI Convention, and so I hope to see you all there.

My Rotary classification is Government – Consular Service. And that is exactly what has brought me to New York City. Last January 6th, I assumed my duties as Consul General of the Philippines in New York, with responsibility for nine other states, from Maine in the north to Delaware in the south and Pennsylvania to the west.

In case you are wondering what a Consul or Consul General does, our mission includes protecting our country’s interests in these parts of the United States; enhancing commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between the Philippines and the US Northeast; helping and assisting Filipino nationals in cases of difficulty; issuing passports and travel documents to our nationals, visas or appropriate documents to persons wishing to travel to the Philippines; and acting as notary and civil registrar and in capacities of a similar kind.

In the past few years, especially those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demands for our consular services could not have been greater. One of the not-so-nice things that keep us busy in these recent times was the more pronounced rise in cases of anti-Asian hate. And much like all hate crimes and prejudices, these are borne out of ignorance. This darkness of Asian Hate is best counteracted with education and visibility. Through your actions, we must inform the rest of the people in our communities about the positive contributions of Filipino-Americans to the economy and to the fabric of American society itself. And we must shine a stronger light on the outstanding achievements of Filipino-Americans in various fields, ranging from sports to e-finance, civil engineering to health care, military service to religious chaplaincy, and so on.

The major agenda item of your meeting today – the Club’s involvement in the “Rotary Day of Service”, which is scheduled in May, is one such activity that could enhance the visibility of Filipino-Americans. In the true spirit of Rotary which is Service Above Self, and of the Philippine spirit of bayanihan, we serve not only our own members but the entire community as well. Through this project, I hope the community here in Woodside will see that the Rotarians in their midst will do anything to keep the community clean, safe and welcoming to everyone.

We at the Consulate General wish you well in this endeavor, and may this project become an opportunity for service and for fostering unity among all Filipino-Americans in this part of New York.

My warmest wishes and best regards to the officers and members of Queensborough West Rotary Club. Consider us at the Consulate General as your partners and allies in making this world a safer, more inclusive, and more tolerant place.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat!