New York City government assures Filipinos it is addressing hate crimes

NEW YORK – Local authorities on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) assured Filipino-Americans and Asian-Americans, including tourists, that it is doing its best to prevent and address hate crimes that continue to plague the city.

Jasper Diaz, Legislative Representative of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, said the city government is enforcing several security measures, which include police visibility and multi-agency cooperation, to ensure the safety of Asian community members.

“There's a lot we are doing from the legal side to multi-agency cooperation and we are seeing results. There's still more to be done and we're going to continue to work hard for our community,” Diaz told visiting Filipino journalists.

Diaz also said the city government will be extending assistance to all victims regardless of immigration status.

Filipino-American theater actor Miguel Braganza, who was assaulted and robbed near his home in Upper West Side in Manhattan last year, however, lamented he did not get the needed assistance from New York authorities after the attack.

“That's my frustration. Until now there is no follow up. I did not hear from the city and then I was moved to different units,” Braganza, a New York City resident for over forty years, said in a separate interview.

“Everything changed after that and that's the one I’m trying to get back, to trust my city again,” he added.

Since the pandemic started in 2020, a number of incidents of physical and verbal assault against Filipinos in New York were reported.

Philippine diplomats in New York have called on Filipinos to be vigilant and to stay alert, adding that most hate crimes were committed by mentally unstable and homeless individuals.

Hannah Yu, Hate Crimes Unit chief at the New York City District Attorney's Office, said it takes hate crimes cases “really seriously,” adding that “we leave no stone unturned in terms of investigating the motive behind it.”

Yu, however, admitted that there are impediments in pursuing cases against perpetrators.

Some incidents often lead to closed investigation if there is no video of the attack and if the perpetrator cannot be identified.

“If the perpetrator is not identified then there is not much we can do,” she said. “Second impediment is we are bound by the law. We only charge hate crimes when there is hate crime evidence.”

According to Yu, the number of Asian hate crimes remained consistently high at 33%, with majority of incidents of unprovoked assault and harassment happened last 2021.  Most hate crimes, she said, are happening in lower Manhattan. 

“It has remained consistently high in the largest category of our pending cases," Yu said.

Filipino nurse Potri Rankamanis Nur, who was also attacked in 2021 at a subway station while giving out free masks to passengers, said her case has yet to be resolved.

However, Potri said she will not let the incident prevent her from raising awareness on the issue.

“There are only two things that can happen to a victim – become a champion or normalize oppression. Life is short. I cannot be a victim forever,” she said.—AOL, GMA News