The Philippine Community Coordinating Council
(PCCC) adopted a 2015-2017 plan of activities that
was largely implemented during that period.
In addition to the annual major events,
the PCCC held activities that reached out to groups and organizations of
Filipinos and Japanese that provide services to Filipinos.
Consultation
Meetings
In 2016, the following meetings were held:
a. Filipino student groups
– There are organizations of Filipino graduate
students in universities in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures that hold activities for their members and participate in
activities in their communities. In Kyoto, a meeting with the Officers of the Kyoto Association of Pinoy Scholars (KAPS) was held on 1 August 2016 at
the Ryukoku University courtesy of Professor Reinaruth Carlos who was teaching at
the university. The meeting focused on the needs of young people such as
students and what PCCC could possibly do to address those
needs. One suggestion was the creation of an information source for employment
and other needs of students who finished their courses. The information could
be in a PCCC website. The plan to hold a
meeting with
the Officers of the Filipino Students
Association of Osaka (FILSO), a member-organization of PCCC, was not
held however.
b. Filipino religious
and lay missionaries group – the Philippine
Missionaries in Japan (PHILMISS), a group of Filipino Catholic religious and
lay missionaries, has a subgroup in the Kansai region with members from the
Osaka and Kyoto Dioceses. The consultations were held with PHILMISS Osaka on 6 July 2015 at the Sacra Famiglia, and with PHILMISS
Kyoto on 28 July 2016 at the Kibo no Ie. The meeting with PHILMISS Osaka was
attended by priests from two congregations (Frs Thirdie Caballero, CM, Patrick
Castrovere and Armand Romero both of CICM) and a Marist Brother (Bro JeffRhey Antiquisa).
On the other hand, the meeting with PHILMISS Kyoto was attended by Sisters (Srs.
Rosario Macawili, Lolit Solis, Yuko Nobuta and Shiela Cayomo of the SFIC and Sr.
Nida Indelible of the Carmelite Missionaries) and one priest (Fr. Jose Norella of the MSP).
Both meetings discussed the objectives and program of the PCCC. There was a very
clear lack of understanding about the PCCC. They thought the PCCC activities were
not responsive to the needs of Filipino communities.
But the priests and nuns also raised hope that the PCCC would try to be
closer to the communities. They also saw PCCC as an intermediary between
Filipinos in the communities and the Philippine Consulate-General in Osaka.
c. Japanese non-profit
organizations (NPOs) – a number of the so-called NPOs provide services to
foreigners in the Kansai region that include legal assistance, medical support,
assistance in finding jobs, assistance in finding shelter for victims of
domestic violence, and assistance in terms of information about the services
and facilities available to foreigners. Some of these NPOs receive support from
the local governments in order to serve the foreigners. The representatives of NPOs in Osaka met the PCCC Officers on 16 August 2015 at the Sacra
Famiglia. There were representatives from CHARM (Ms Rieko Aoki), SINAPIS (Ms Atsuko Matsuura-Vizcardo), and RENGO (Mr Kyosuke
Sakai). There was an introduction of the objectives and
activities (plans) of the PCCC. The NPO representatives explained what their
programs were. The discussions focused on what kind of relationship could be
built between the NPOs and the PCCC. Referral of Filipinos needing legal and
other assistance to the NPOs who offered the appropriate service was one of the
areas of cooperation. The representatives of NPOs in Kyoto belong to the Kyoto
YWCA-Asia People Together (Ms Yuriko Oka and Ms Carisa Sugiyama) and
SamakaBatangPinoy (Ms Haruko Uchida) met with the PCCC Officers on 29 August 2015
at the APT-YWCA office in Kyoto. There was a discussion on the different issues
faced by Filipino women and children, the different programs of the NPOs, and
the possibility of working together.
The consultations/dialogues generally affirmed the
importance of a network of Filipino communities in the Kansai region. Thus
there was an expectation from the people consulted that PCCC would take action
to address some issues regarding Filipino communities.
The discussions had the following specific results:
1.
Establishment of
links and identification of areas of collaboration (such as joint activities on
seminars and training, participation in NPO activities such as Health Festa,
sharing and dissemination of information about and for Filipinos);
2.
Solicitation of
possible issues that PCCC could work on such as education of children, support
for people who have legal and other problems (domestic violence, labor issues, etc.),
3.
Exploration of
support for PCCC projects such as communication system to reach Filipino communities.
Community
Dialogues
The
PCCC started community dialogues with members
of Filipino communities in 2016. Two community dialogues were held; first with
the Kakogawa
Catholic Church Filipino community on 20 March 2016, Kakogawa city, Hyogo, and second with the Shiga Filipino Christian Community in the
Catholic Church in Nagahama in Shiga on 5 March 2017. The dialogues
focused on introduction of the PCCC program,
issues faced by community members and possible activities that PCCC could take to serve community
needs. In
both dialogues, many members of the communities received an orientation on the
PCCC for the first time. In Kakogawa, much of the discussions centered on the
problems faced by Filipinos, including those relating to the Philippine
Consulate services. In Nagahama, the discussions focused on issues and the
possible activities that the PCCC could take in response. The ideas that came
out in the Nagahama dialogue included a better system of information
dissemination about the requirements of the consular services, activities for
Japanese-Filipino children and youth, and cultural activities.
Major Activities
The
major PCCC activities organized during
the 2015-2017 period were the following:
a. Two Jamming for a Cause events
(September 2015 and July 2016 at Nishi-Yodogawa Kumin Hall, Osaka) – gatherings
of Filipinos (featuring Filipino and Japanese musicians and singers) that
stressed the importance of strengthening communities.
This
event was designed to support the “cause” of the PCCC in continuing to reach out to Filipino communities not
only in Kansai but also other parts of Western Japan by organizing activities such as seminars
on issues affecting Filipinos, disseminating relevant information to the
Filipino communities, documenting and recognizing the existence of Filipinos in
western Japan, and
collaborating with
different groups (including the Filipino religious missionaries and Japanese institutions and NPOs) on issues that
serve the interest of the Filipinos and their communities.
The first Jamming
had this theme: “Strengthening Communities.” Filipino singers and
musicians led to several
hours of dancing. This event received support from many sponsors, including a
presentation on financial literacy by a sponsor. Consul
Jerome John O. Castro of the Philippine Consulate-General and Director Leona
Nepomuceno of the Department of Tourism Office in Osaka joined the Jamming event.
The second Jamming
had this theme: “Reaching Out to the
Community (Banda Rito, Banda Roon).”
This event included a special tribute to Consul General Maria Teresa Taguiang,
who was scheduled to leave her post in early
2017. A tribute video was shown and a plaque of appreciation was given to her during
the Jamming program. Fr. Mario Colina,
CM and Director Leona Nepomuceno of the Department of Tourism Office in Osaka
joined the tribute section of the program. The performers included Sabado Boys,
Elsa Mega & the Lunatics, The Terminators, Bernard Palad, Jos Garcia, Flor
Cabal and Kitty Kate.
More than 200 Filipinos and Japanese attended each Jamming. They
enjoyed the performances of Filipino musicians and singers.
b. Annual Sportsfests
- as another venue for Filipinos to gather and have fun as one community, the PCCC held its 7th (25 October 2015) and 8th
Sportsfest (9 October 2016) at the Yodogawa Park in Osaka city. Consul General Maria Teresa
Taguiang attended the 2016 Sportsfest where she bid
farewell to the members of the Filipino communities. Director Leona
Nepomuceno of the Department of Tourism Office in Osaka also joined the 2016
Sportsfest;
c. Christmas events – the PCCC
held two Christmas events (6 December 2015 – Kita Kumin Hall, Osaka city; 17
December 2016 – Etre Building, Toyonaka city) as year-end activities that
provided the PCCC the opportunity to express appreciation and gratitude to people
and institutions that supported the needs of the PCCC and the Filipinos. In the
2015 Christmas party, the following were given recognition by the PCCC: Mr.
Tadao Hongo, Mr. Yoshihiro Fuchizaki, and Ms. Yoko Hayashi. All of them have been supporting the
activities of the PCCC for many years. In the 2016 Christmas party, the PCCC gave certificates of recognition to two Japanese
non-for-profit organizations for their service to Filipinos in Kansai. The PCCC awarded the certificates of recognition to the Rights of Migrants Network in Kansai (RINK) in
Osaka and the Kyoto-YWCA Asian People Together (APT) through their
representatives (Mr Michitsune Kosaka and Ms Kathryn Orense for RINK and Ms
Marilou Ramos for APT).
The Christmas parties had the participation of
members of the member-organizations and communities as well as professional
musicians and singers such as Gelacio Silva, Jr., Flor Cabal, Dan Vito, Olive
Kawaida, Lorna Cifra, Ellen Flores, the Mist Acoustics (band), and also
students of Dance Studio
Skyhigh and children of the Sama-sama Filipino Community,
International Friends and Families in Kansai (IFFIK) and the Osaka Mabuhay
Community.
Seminars
In
cooperation with other institutions, the PCCC held two seminars during the
2015-2017 period.
The Network of
Filipino Social Development Workers in Japan led
seminars on how to prepare for disaster at the local and household levels in Hirakata, Osaka and Kusatsu cities (Shiga) on 28 – 29 November 2015.
Verite,
an international non-governmental organization based in the US with Southeast
Asia office in the Philippines, held Labor Rights seminars entitled “Promoting
Fair & Safe Labor in Japan - A Free Forum for Workers” in Osaka and Kyoto
cities on 3 April 2016 (Sacra Famiglia
Church, Osaka and Kyoto Diocesan building, Kyoto). The seminar was an
educational activity that discussed labor issues and the means to address them.
These
seminars were not specifically identified in the plans of the past two years.
They were offered to the PCCC by the Network of
Filipino Social Development Workers in Japan and Verite respectively. They
served very specific purposes (disaster preparedness and welfare of workers)
and could not have been organized by the PCCC alone. The labor rights seminars
also allowed the PCCC to work with Japanese NPOs (RINK and RENGO) which
provided resource persons to the seminars. The two seminars provided
substantive practical information to the Filipino participants.
Documentation of
Filipinos
The
PCCC started a project in 2016 on documenting the lives of Filipinos in Kansai.
The initial
documentation report (tentatively entitled Filipinos
in Kansai – We are Here!) covered different aspects of the lives of
Filipinos in the region.
As stated in another document,[1]
this documentation project provides an opportunity for Filipinos to reflect on
a number of questions:
·
Sino ang Pilipino sa Kansai/Japan?
·
Ano ang kabuluhan ng ating pamumuhay
dito sa Kansai/Japan?
·
Sino tayo bilang bahagi ng lipunang Hapones?
The documentation does not
only present the history of migration and existence of the Filipinos in the
Kansai region but also identify characteristics that define the Filipinos, as
much as delineate their intricate involvement, in the Japanese society.
In sum, the project is an
attempt at recording the history and lives of the Filipinos in the Kansai
region, and at presenting to the Filipinos themselves and to the Japanese a
diverse, nuanced and comprehensive picture of who they (Filipinos) are in the
Japanese society.
Under this documentation project, a sub-project called
the Banyuhay was initiated in early 2016. Unfortunately, the script of Banyuhay
was not completed as of November 2016 and thus the planned staging of the play
in March 2017 was no longer feasible. In view of the expressed support of the
Osaka International House Foundation for a cultural project of the PCCC, an
alternative activity was palnned to be held on any of the dates reserved for the use of the Osaka
International House facilities.
This led to the development of the concept of a
public forum that would present the results of the documentation project,
though partially, to both Filipino and Japanese audiences. This activity was
named Kapihan at Talakayan sa Kansai.
As a socio-cultural activity meant to present a better understanding of the diverse lives of Filipinos in Kansai, Kapihan had
these objectives:
a. To provide a
different view in understanding the existence of Filipinos in Kansai; and
b. To help counter
stereotyped image of Filipinos in Kansai.
The Kapihan program had three parts:
a. Presentation on the
diverse existence of the Filipinos in Kansai;
b. Presentation on
specific involvements of Filipinos; and
c. Open forum on ways
and means of addressing issues affecting stereotyped image of Filipinos.
The presentation of
diverse experience of the Filipinos in Kansai consisted of a short video presentation
on the historical links between the Philippines and Kansai, a powerpoint
presentation on the activities of the Filipino communities and individuals, and
another short video presentation on the activities of the PCCC.
There
was a panel discussion on different
areas of work of Filipinos, with four panelists:
a.
Alfred
Ishita (Osaka/Tokyo) - a Music Professor in Kitasato University;
b.
Marlou
Pejana (Hyogo) – a Manufacturing Engineer working at Rolls-Royce Japan Corporation, Kobe;
c.
Sofiya
Okumura (Osaka) - a senior high school student
in Osaka; and
d.
Jean
Tanangonan (Nara) – a professor at the Department
of Environmental Management, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kindai University.
Yolanda Alfaro Tsuda
(Osaka, a professor at Kobe College) was the panel Moderator.
The panel discussion
discussed issues and experiences about being Japanese with Filipino ancestry
(both as someone who was born and grew up in Japan, and someone who recently came
to Japan at high school age), working as a professional in a company in Japan,
and teaching graduate students through field research
in the Philippines about environmental management.
There were also other
elements in the program consisting of the following:
a. Performances by
Filipino professional and non-professional singers and musicians, namely,
Japinong Sessionista of Kyoto, Lorna Cifra and Joey Manalang. There was a wide
repertoire of songs from pop (Filipino, American
and Japanese popular songs by Japinong Sessionista) to jazz (Maala-ala Mo Kaya rendered in jazz style by Lorna Cifra) to rock music (Sabay
sa Ihip ng Hangin – a song by Joey
Manalang about
Filipinos as migrants, which won an award given by the Overseas Workers Welfare
Agency office in Tokyo);
b. Special recognition
given to Mommie Ishita (Bibiana Tuason Ishita) as the most likely oldest
Filipino (99 years old) and longest resident in Kansai and a Filipino community
leader; and
c. Photo exhibit on the
life of Mommie Ishita staged by Yolanda Alfaro Tsuda.
The Kapihan was held on 25 March 2017 at the
small hall of the Osaka International House.
Out of the one
hundred twenty-three people who came to the event, about fifty Japanese were in
attendance.
There
were also representatives from the Philippine government offices in Osaka (Commercial
Counsellor Eugenio C. Elevado, Jr. of the Philippine Trade and Industry Center,
and Director Leona Nepomuceno of the Department of Tourism).
The
Kapihan was the first PCCC activity
that aimed at reaching both the Filipino and Japanese audiences. The project was
meant to make both the Filipinos and Japanese have a better understanding of
the Filipinos’ existence in Japanese society. This explains the need for Japanese
translation during the Kapihan.
Kapihan has a combined
program of presentation of experiences and activities of the Filipinos and a
cultural component that portrays different types of music being sung or played
by both professional and non-professional Filipino singers.
It
was also the first time for the PCCC to have a
special feature focusing on a Filipina whose life in Osaka
symbolizes the diversity of Filipino lives in Kansai. This consisted in giving
her a recognition certificate and a photo exhibit on her life from the time
when she was a young girl in Gapan, Nueva Ecija in the Philippines until her
residence in Osaka.
Other Activities
The PCCC held other activities consisting
of the bi-monthly regular meetings of its member-communities and organizations,
meetings of Officers, as well as meetings in preparation for the activities.
The PCCC Officers met the Consul-General,
Consuls and Vice-Consul at the Philippine Consulate General and the Director of
the Osaka Office of the Department of Tourism to discuss issues relevant to its
activities.
There were also special meetings to
discuss the improvement of the organizational system of the PCCC. This led to
the change in the financial, planning and activity implementation processes of
the PCCC.
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