|
| Luz Micabilo |
The establishment of Centennial chapters was achieved through an elaborate and painstaking search for prominent Filipino community leaders in major cities throughout the United States and areas with large concentrations of Filipinos and Filipino Americans to lead the promotion of the Centennial Movement and the recruitment of its members and supporters.
In the northeastern United Sates, broadly covering a greater part of the 16 state jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, the search ended when Mrs. Luz Sapin Micabalo was appointed by Philippine Centennial Commission (PCC) Chairman Dr. Salvador Laurel as the Commission�s official overall coordinator.
It was at this same time when the PCC was engaged in its search for Centennial Movement point persons throughout North America when Micabalo was steering the Philippine Independence Day Committee (PIDC) towards the celebration of the 1996 Philippine Independence Day that her organization skills and leadership qualities came to the attention of Philippine Centennial Commission headhunters.
Micabalo successfully steered the 1996 Philippine Independence Day celebration as the Overall Chairperson of the Philippine Independence Day Committee. The PIDC, which operates under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, is the ad-hoc organization of Filipino community leaders in the tri-state area that organizes and oversees all the activities of the annual commemoration of Philippine Independence in the greater New York area.
Micabalo brings with her years of experience and expertise as an effective organizer and community leader. She has received a number of impressive awards for her leadership, notably in community and humanitarian affairs but also in her professional position as a nurse and an administrator. The most prestigious of these awards is the New York Governor�s Award for Outstanding Asian Americans for 1994.
Micabalo�s strong commitment and selfless dedication to public service and to her profession have been proven ever since she came to this country in 1959. Her involvement with community affairs did not start nor does it end with PIDC. It runs the whole gamut, from fund-raising projects for victims of natural disasters in the Philippines to advocating nurses� rights to membership in a number of significant advisory bodies, including the First Asian-American Advisory Council to the New York City Police Department (1986-1988) and the U.S. Congressional Advisory Board (1986).
Immediately following her appointment, Micabalo organized the Philippine Centennial Coordinating Council Northeastern U.S.A. (PCCCNUSA) and recruited members for the core work group which will plan and implement the various projects to be undertaken as part of the Centennial celebration. The culmination of the activities will be held on the actual anniversary of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1998.
Since Micabalo�s appointment, the Council has coordinated and /or sponsored a number of projects, most notable of which were the Mayi presentation of FLIPZOIDS, a play on the experience of Filipinos in America, and the Rizal Centennial Photo Exhibition, commemorating the martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the Philippine National Hero. At this time, the PCCCNUSA is busy culling the various activities that it will oversee in the next two years.
This article was published in the Centennial Philippines, February 1997 Newsletter. For more information about the PCCCNUSA please contact Luz Micabalo at 212-764-1330. Micabalo is on the Friend�s Board of Advisors.
