PRESIDENT ARROYO MEETS WITH FILIPINO COMMUNITY LEADERS IN NORTHEAST USA

18 October 2007 – The Philippine Consulate General in New York reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met with the leaders of  the Filipino community, at a reception hosted by the President during her official visit to New York, attended by 250 community leaders from Northeast USA.

The event was highlighted by special awards given by the President to members of the Filipino community who have done exemplary work for the benefit of Filipinos, and brought honor to the Philippine nation.

Among the awardees were: 1) The Philippine Nurses Association of America Task Force for NCLEX Administration in the Philippines, under the able leadership of Ms. Filipinas Lowery, who was responsible for NCLEX administration in the Philippines through approval by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing  2) Mr. Alberto Florentino, a Filipino playwright, who received the Presidential Medal of Merit, for his role as editor and publisher of works by other Filipino writers; and 3) Consul General Cecilia Rebong, for her work as Chief of Presidential Protocol from 2001 to 2003.

For their part, the Filipino veterans expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the President’s full support  for their concerns on benefits stripped away due to the Rescission Act of 1946. The veterans are closer to a well-deserved recognition for their aspirations, with the approval of the Veterans Equity Bill of 2007 at the Committee levels of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and the assurance of President Bush’s approval of the measure.

In turn, the Filipino Community represented by the leaders of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, presented an Excellence Award to President Arroyo. The evening was capped with a brief speech from the President, thanking the Filipino community for its support, and outlined the accomplishments of the government in both the economic and social spheres. END.

/esgret