Asian Journal, widest circulated Fil-Am paper

By Gerry Garcia

HERE’S ANOTHER reassuring account about a Filipino doctor in America who did remarkably well to become the first military woman in US history to be appointed as White House physician, then to become a personal physician of President Bill Clinton, that ought to do a lot to downplay one of the Desperate Housewives’ insolent reference to Pinoy doctors getting their diplomas from a med school in the Philippines as inferior.

This exemplary Pinoy doctor we’re referring to is Dr. Connie Mariano, one of the outstanding Filipinos duly recognized in June 3 at the South San Francisco Convention Center by the 10th Filipinas Magazine Achievement Awards. The Fil Mag is the only nationally circulated Fil-Am magazine in the US.

Mariano said the award was an honor, not just for herself but also for her parents, a former US Navy seal and a   dentist originally from the Philippines.

The other awardee was Dr. Samuel Bernal, renowned cancer researcher who has impressive academic achievements with his additional MBA and law degrees.

Bernal, currently doing cancer research at the University of California, L.A., still keeps strong ties with his country. He is a visiting professor at the University of the Philippines and has brought some of his research projects to the country.

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Source of our information: the Asian Journal, the first Filipino newspaper published twice a week by former residents of Binalonan, this province, Roger Lagmay Oriel and Cora Macabagdal-Oriel. In two California cities: Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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Other Pinoy awardees of Filipinas Magazine: Broadcast journalist Lloyd La  Cuesta, who in his career also established the Asian American Journalists Association, also had hosted the Filipinas Magazine Achievements awards during its first years. Lloyd’s mother was a nurse and his father, a sugar cane plantation worker in Hawaii.

Another awardee was Fil-Am Hollywood actor Dante Basco seen in the Antonio Banderas movie “Take the Lead”. For Entertainment.

For Business: Goldilocks Bakeshop founder Milagros Yee and Clarita Go; For Arts and Culture: Randy Gener, writer, playwrite, critic and editor.

For Corporate Leadership: Corsee Dating Sanders, the first Filipino to graduate with a Ph.D. in statistics from Wharton School; For Public Affairs: Palm Beach County developer and first elected Fil-Am in Florida Sate County Commissioner Jess Santamaria.

The International Achievement Award was given to Kalinga founder Antonio Meleto.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/here-and-there/)