Pinoy MPP Candidates Speak

Pinoy MPP Candidates Speak

Wave of Support for Filipino Candidates at Forum

NERISSA CARIñO, NDP, Pickering-Scarborough East. PHOTO BY JOSEPH SMOOKE

Community leaders called for Filipino-Canadians to start a wave of support for Filipino candidates in the upcoming October 6 provincial elections at a forum on Friday, September 16.

At “Pinoy MPP Candidates Speak,” Nerissa Cariño, NDP candidate for Scarborough East, and Cheryll San Juan, Green Party candidate for Etobicoke Centre, shared their platforms with a captive audience. Dozens of Filipino community leaders at the Filipino Centre-Toronto on Parliament Street listened and questioned the candidates on what they will do about the most pressing issues for Filipino-Canadians.

If elected, the women would be the first Filipino Members of Provincial Parliament in Ontario. Half of all Filipino-Canadians live in Ontario.

“It’s very vital for us to have visibility,” said Rodel Ramos. Ramos started the wave of outcries from the attendants supporting the candidates during the audience question and answer period towards the end of the event.

Instead of posing a question to the candidates, Ramos asked the audience of mostly GTA Filipino community leaders, “How can we help these people run?” He suggested starting a brainstorming session and solicited help from those who have helped others successfully win campaigns.

Group photo for the remaining audience after the forum with candidates Cheryll San Juan and Nerissa Carino at Filipino Centre-Toronto on Sept. 16.

Ramos’s call was soon echoed by other audience members, such as Jojo Geronimo, who called for the start of “Filipinos for Nerissa” and “Filipinos for Cheryll” organizations, particularly in these candidates’ ridings. Paulina Corpus told attendants to call or email their friends and family to support San Juan and Cariño.

In reaction to the audience’s calls for community support for their candidacies, Cariño became emotional. With tears in her eyes she thanked them for their encouragement, and said, “This is why I’m proud to be Filipino.”

Earlier that night, the camaraderie between the two candidates from different parties was evident, when Cariño placed a hand on San Juan’s shoulder and said she would proudly share the title of first Filipina elected to Ontario’s provincial office. The candidates smiled brightly at each other and the crowd, who erupted in cheers and applause.

Cariño, a mother of four children and business owner, said to the audience, that before being a candidate, she is “a social activist first.” She received the YMCA Peace Medallion for her work addressing violence against women. Her number one priority is making life more affordable, such as for post-secondary education. Carino’s platform includes tax credits for small business owners.

Cariño is running to continue the vision her grandparents saw when they immigrated to Ontario in the early 1970s. She wants that vision of opportunity renewed.

CHERYLL SAN JUAN, Green Party, Etobicoke Centre

San Juan is a mother of two, with degrees

in Applied Economics, Progress in Sustainable Development, and Communication. In 2009 she completed an Executive Education Program at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. She is the publisher of Filipino Life Magazine, a national lifestyle magazine about the global Filipino.

She is running on a platform to “innovate, educate and empower our community.” San Juan cited many statistics during her speech on Friday showing the disparity of the Filipino-Canadian population with the rest of Canada and other minorities. In 2000, she said that Filipinos had the second lowest income amongst all minorities employed in full-time work, even though “Filipinos are workhorses.”

She said for our level of education, Filipino-Canadians hold a disproportionately low number of managerial positions. In 2000, Filipino-Canadian adults were “much more likely than the rest of the population to have a university degree,” according to Statistics Canada. Filipino-Canadian seniors make $8,000 less than the average Canadian senior.

The major issues brought up by the audience members included the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) and the de-professionalization of Filipino-Canadians.

During the forum, the candidates were asked questions by a panel that included Chris Sorio, Migrante-Canada’s secretary general, who called for better rights for migrant workers, such as farm workers in Leamington, Ontario.

VERONICA JAVIER, Youth

Veronica Javier, a Phd student and research assistant for the “Filipino Youth Transitions in Canada” project, represented youth concerns including their high drop-out rate.

Aguido de la Cruz, chair of Kababayan Community Centre’s seniors group asked what the candidates would do about displaced seniors who could not live with their families. Elvie Saing represented live-in caregivers and brought up concerns such as the lack of health insurance during their temporary status. Pet Cleto, George Brown College lecturer and Gabriela-Ontario member, asked the candidates to address various women’s issue.

Filipinos often volunteer for political campaigns but few run for office, said co-moderator Dylan Hamada in an interview before the forum. He was surprised when he heard there were two Filipinas running in the provincial elections and wanted to participate as a Filipino-Canadian youth. He feels that youth are disengaged from politics, but it is because the political parties do little to engage them.

Rose Tijam, Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO) president, was the other co-moderator. The Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ), Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPCO, Anakbayan-Toronto, Filipino Centre-Toronto, Kababayan and Kapisanan community centres and Migrante Ontario were the organizing groups for the forum.

The Philippine Consul General in Toronto, Pedro O. Chan, was in attendance. He came to listen to the candidates’ platforms and encourage more political participation. In an interview, he said that Filipinos should field more candidates and “we can be more actively involved.” Political participation by Filipino-Canadians “is still negligible considering the size of the population,” Chan said.

CHRIS SORIO, Migrante. PHOTO BY JOSEPH SMOOKE

AGUIDO DE LA CRUZ, Seniors. PHOTO BY JOSEPH SMOOKE

ELVIE SAING, Gabriela Ontario, representing caregivers. PHOTO BY JOSEPH SMOOKE

MARLENE MOGADO, Trustee. PHOTO BY JOSEPH SMOOKE

LINDA JAVIER, FCT president

Rodel Ramos urges community to support Filipino candidates in Oct. 6 provincial elections.

Dylan Hamada, of Anakbayan Toronto organizing committee, moderator at the forum. 2 PHOTOS: JOSEPH SMOOKE

From left: Rose Tijam, President of Philippine Press Club Ontario; Paulina and Ben Corpuz, of PATAC and CASJ; Cheryll San Juan, Green Party MPP candidate with her two daughters; Hermie and Mila Garcia of CASJ and Philippine Reporter.