100 accomplished Filipinas, one crazy night

Last week, 100 Filipino women were honored in Washington, D.C. for their contributions to society, but the event left some awardees embarrassed more than empowered. Among the winners are former TV celebrity Leila Benitez, TLC Beatrice President/CEO Loida Nicolas Lewis, Asian American Action Fund board member Gloria Caoile, former White House director for domestic policy Irene Bueno, educator and political activist Irene Natividad, state delegate from Hawaii Rida Cabanilla, state delegate from Maryland Kris Valderrama, motivational speaker and businesswoman Sonia Aranza, and ABS-CBN producer Regina Reyes. For several months leading up to Oct. 25 to 27, there was a nationwide search to find accomplished Filipina women. More than 200 women were nominated for their works in government, the private sector, media and the arts. The winners, including the general public, were required to pay to attend the dinner, hotel and transportation expenses. The dinner event was designed to showcase the progress Filipinas have made, but the attention was shifted to the problems that plagued the evening. According to Jhett Epp, she was asked to volunteer two weeks prior to the event, but as the dinner gala neared, she, along with the host committee, were never provided with an official program, a seating arrangement, bios of the awardees, let alone a final list of the winners, even though they had made several requests to the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN), the not-for-profit association that organized the event. “We did not get all of the information needed until 9 or 10 p.m. that night," said Epp. “A lot of people were upset. I have never experienced this before and it was disappointing because we really wanted to make this a nice event. Had we followed the plan, it would have been fine. It didn’t come off as organized." Epp was also disappointed with the last minute changes to the awards ceremony, which she described as a “mess." “The stage wasn’t where it was suppose to be and the circle [of the 100 women] was to encompass the whole ballroom, but we had to do it on the dance floor," said Epp, who was also upset that some of the awardees’ names were not announced because an unidentified woman started handing out the awards while the women were just standing on the dance floor and did not follow the original plan to call each woman to the stage. “Several of the awardees did say that they would have liked to be recognized individually, so people would know who they were," added Epp. “I don’t want the host committee to be blamed because we weren’t in charge and our hands were tied. We wanted it to be an elegant, dignified affair. But it fell apart." Mil Arcega, one of the emcees of the evening, was also disappointed with the event, especially the awards ceremony. “It was a free-for-all," said Arcega, a veteran journalist and frequent emcee for many Asian American events in the east coast. According to Arcega, he met a woman from New York whose award was mistakenly given to another winner during the ceremony. “It’s just sad," said Arcega. “This was the worst organized event I’ve ever attended." “I got involved because it is time to empower the Filipino women and we have to recognize the influence these women have in their lives," said Arcega, who attended the dinner with his wife. “I would like to apologize to the awardees who felt they were not properly recognized. It was beyond our control." Marily Mondejar, the executive director of the FWN, said she understands how and why many people were upset with the event. “I’m sure there were some people who were frustrated," said Mondejar, who said over 100 people registered last-minute at the door, which added to the seating chart confusion. “They had to wait to be seated. Some people just sat at any table if they came late and took empty seats. That was hard to control." As for the awards ceremony itself, Mondejar said so many of the audience rushed to the dance floor to take photographs of the winners and tried to control the situation. “We tried telling people to step back from the dance floor and stage to continue, but they just didn’t move. The noise was so uncontrollable," said Mondejar, who doesn’t want anyone to blame the host committee for the events that took place that night. “The interesting part is that it was chaotic and exciting. I don’t want this to be a reflection of the 100 influential women," added Mondejar who said she was going to review the video taken of the night to better understand what happened for future events. Malu Rivera-Peoples was among those recognized for her work as a performing artist. Rivera-Peoples is the founder and artistic director of the Westlake School for the Performing Arts in Daly City, a city highly populated by Filipinos near San Francisco. “It’s not about the award, but it is nice to be acknowledged," said Rivera-Peoples, who attended the gala with her mother and a protégé, Jessica Manalo, a 24-year-old dancer who has known Rivera-Peoples for 12 years. “This whole conference is empowering to Filipino women," said Manalo, who also added that she is very proud of her mentor’s accomplishments. “Malu is a wonderful person, loving, and has a forgiving heart." Rivera-Peoples admits that when she and the other awardees stood in a circle together around the ballroom, she was overwhelmed with pride and by the chaos that ensued. “It happened so fast," said Rivera-Peoples, who said it was hard to see the evening’s slide show because so many people were trying to take pictures. “It turned into mayhem, like a graduation turned crazy." Maria Luisa Osmena, a pediatrician from San Bruno, CA, was nominated for her service in the field of medicine and for improving the lives of others. Osmena did not travel to the East Coast for the summit because of her work schedule, but feels honored to be nominated. “It’s always good for society to acknowledge the good work being done because there are a lot of good Filipino women," said Osmena, who credits her accomplishments to her mother’s strong family values and support to study medicine. On Friday evening, over a 100 audience members gathered for the panel discussion “Kwentuhan." The event was facilitated by Sonia Aranza, a communications specialist, who also won an award for her contributions as a businesswoman. According to Aranza, she wanted to use “Kwentuhan" to allow the winners to tell their stories, which they were not able to do so at the awards ceremony. “After that Thursday evening experience, I went home and spent a huge time reflecting and planning so the following day was structured," she said. “From the feedback I received, some said it redeemed the night before. The ‘Kwentuhan’ gave them a chance to hear the stories and lessons learned [from the winners]. It was a second chance to make it [the summit] better." “The fact that they found 100 women is amazing, when there are at least millions more out there who, on a day to day basis are influential in their own way. The fact that there are so many women to honor now is an indication that we are making stride. It’s just that one night that went crazy," added Aranza. - Philippine News