Asian-Americans seek justice for Pinay hate crime victim

As an Asian-American organization staged a protest during which they demanded justice for a Filipina-American hate crime victim, Philippine Consul-General in New York Elmer Cato issued a statement in which he said “everyone belongs here.”

Cato’s message was read by Mr. Phil Wong, president of Chinese-American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY) which organized the rally to demand justice for 65-year-old Filipina, Vilma Kari, who was assaulted last week in Manhattan.

The protest was held while the 38-year-old suspect, Brandon Elliot, was scheduled to appear before a Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday (US time) to face two charges of second-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime.

“All of us saw how Brandon Elliot, a 38-year-old convict who is out on parole for killing his own mother, kicked the helpless Vilma without provocation and stomped on her face while yelling at her ‘You don’t belong here!’” Cato said in his message.

“Today, Brandon Elliot will appear in this Criminal Court, and to him we say Vilma belongs here, Asians in New York belong here, everyone belongs here,” he added.

Cato, pointing to Asians’ courtesy to the elderly, said Elliot’s assault on the 65-year-old Filipina and the case of 61-year-old Noel Quintana, whose face was slashed while riding the subway, “hit close to home.”

“It is part of our DNA to look after our elderly… But contrary to what Elliot said, Vilma and the rest of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community belong here. Our community contributes significantly to the greatness of this city,” he said.

The New York City Metro Area has the largest number of AAPI residents with 2.4 million people contributing more than $6.2 billion to state and local revenues, Cato said.

He also emphasized that Filipino nurses have been valuable in the US’ fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

While only four percent of nurses in the US are Filipinos, Cato said about 30 percent of the almost 200 registered nurses who died from the virus came from the Philippines.

“Twenty-five percent of Filipinos in New York work in the healthcare industry. It is, thus, ironic for Elliot to insist that Vilma and the AAPI community she belongs to, do not belong here,” he said.

The envoy urged the rally participants “not to shut their doors” on victims of anti-Asian hate crimes.

He encouraged them to call the New York City Police Department to report these incidents.

Filipino victims were likewise advised to contact the Consulate General in case of hate crime incidents.

The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department earlier reminded Filipinos in the US to remain vigilant and report any incident against the Filipino community.  — DVM, GMA News