VLOG: Fil-Am senators at ang ‘glass ceiling’ sa Hawaii

PATERNO ESMAQUEL, REPORTING: Hello, ako po si Paterno Esmaquel.

(Hello, I’m Paterno Esmaquel.)

Medyo hihinaan lang natin ‘yung boses natin, ha, dahil nandito tayo sa loob ng Senate Chamber ng State of Hawaii.

(We’ll have to lower our voice because we’re now inside the Senate Chamber of the State of Hawaii.)

Eto nga, sinabitan pa nila tayo ng kanilang mga bulaklak. Papanoorin natin kung paano nila ginagawa ‘yung kanilang mga session dito sa Hawaii.

(They even gave us these leis. We’re here to watch how they conduct sessions in Hawaii.)

Dito sa baba, nagmi-meeting ‘yung mga dalawang dosenang senador ng State of Hawaii. Lima o anim sa kanila ay mga Pilipino.

(Below is where the two dozen senators of the State of Hawaii meet. Five or six of them are Filipinos.)

Nakausap natin ‘yung mga Fil-Am na mga senador dito sa Hawaii, at sinasabi nga nila na dumadami na ang mga Pilipino dito, at lumalaki na ang kanilang impluwensya. Pero kailangan pa rin nilang harapin ang hamon ng pagbali sa tinatawag nilang glass ceiling.

(We spoke to Filipino-American senators here in Hawaii, and they say Filipinos here have been growing in number and influence. But they still have to face the challenge of breaking the glass ceiling.)

DONNA MERCADO KIM, FILIPINO-AMERICAN SENATOR IN HAWAII: We have in fact made those inroads, and it just goes with competition, as anything. Many Filipinos run for office, but not everyone wins. When I first ran, I had to make a decision: Am I going to use my family Filipino name, and just go as Donna Kim or Donna Mercado Kim, and made that decision that, yeah, I am going to use my Filipino name. I am going to let people know that I am Filipino as well. Because growing up, there was a time where you didn’t want people to know that you are Filipino. It was a stigma, way back when I was growing up. If you are Filipino, your pants were too high, you didn’t know how to dress. There was a stigma as a child, growing up, which I believe no longer exists as far as I know.

DONOVAN DELA CRUZ, FIL-AM SENATOR IN HAWAII: We cannot rest on our laurels. We have to continue to achieve more so that we can pave the way, so that people can surpass what we’ve achieved.

PATERNO ESMAQUEL, REPORTING: ‘Yung dami raw ng mga Fil-Am dito sa Hawaii ay pagpapakita ng magandang relasyon ng Pilipinas at Amerika sa nakaraang mga dekada, sa kabila ng mga patutsada ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte laban aa Amerika.

(They also say the number of Filipino Americans here in Hawaii shows the good relations between the Philippines and America in the past decades, despite the tirades of President Rodrigo Duterte against the United States.)

Paterno Esmaquel, Rappler, Honolulu. – Rappler.com