peter jamero

Bridge Generation News

BG Personality of the Month:

Today’s Bridge Generation — now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s — are a rapidly declining population.  Over the years, most members of these American born children of the first wave of Filipino immigrants have passed away.  To remember their contributions to the history of Filipinos in America, a deceased BG individual is a recurring feature of this column.  This month features Eduardo Enodore Malapit, 1933-2007, politician and community service advocate.

Born on April 6, 1933 in Hanapepe, Kauai HI to Filipino immigrants Eusebio Malapit from Ilocos Norte, Luzon and Leonila Enodore of Negros Occidental in the Visayas, Eddie, as he was called in his formative years, shined shoes at the Hanapepe pool hall owned by his parents.  He went to local schools, was popular with his classmates, and played football in high school.  He then served in the army for two years before attending the University of Hawaii, Honolulu where he starred as a tackle on the football team and received a Bachelor Degree in economics in 1955.  In 1962 he received a law degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN before working as a prosecuting attorney in Kauai.

A lifelong Democrat, Malapit served eight years on the Kauai County Council.  By then he was called Mala by his friends and associates. In 1974 he became the nation’s first Filipino American mayor of a U.S. municipality when he was elected Mayor of the County of Kauai HI.  He served as mayor for four consecutive two-year terms from 1974 until 1982.  (A personal note: Soon after his 1974  election, he hosted the award-winning Filipino Youth Activities Drill Team of Seattle that included four of my children — Peter, Julie, Jackie, and Jeanine.)

Malapit was a hands-on mayor.  For example, he kept a pair of firefighting boots hidden in his office in order to respond quickly to emergencies.  Administratively, he was a delegator who informed his cabinet members,  “If you have to make a decision, make it.  If it’s going to be controversial, run it by me so I’m not surprised by it.”  As mayor he was credited with improving and updating Kauai’s infrastructure during his tenure. Kauai’s public parks were renovated. Brand new community centers, police stations, fire stations, sewage treatment plants, and garbage transfer stations were built on the island.

However, his eight year tenure as mayor was also marred by an island-wide controversy for his support of a resort development project.   Malapit’s mayoral office was heavily damaged by a pipe bomb believed to be set by opponents of the development.  The perpetrators of the bombing were never captured.  The controversy contributed to his leaving his position as mayor in 1982.  However, his days as a public official were not over.  He served as chairman of the Hawaii State Board of Labor and Industrial Relations from 1983 to 1987 and was the Governor’s Representative for the County of Kauai from 1987 to 1990.

The affable Malapit was equally well-known for his advocacy for community service.  He was active with the Kauai Filipino Community Council and the Kauai Visayan Club.  He served as an officer with the West Kauai Jaycees, Koloa Lions Club, and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. He was a member of sports related organizations such as the Kauai Pop Warner Football League and Koloa Youth Baseball Organization.  A practicing Roman Catholic, he also served on the board of the Kauai Catholic Vicariate.

Malapit passed away on August 27, 2007 at the age of 74 and was survived by his wife of 45 years, Elizabeth, and four sons — Kevin, Lon, Kent and  Lyle.  Kauai newspaperman Bill Dahle described him as ……..”a class act. He was just cool. Very easy to talk to and not at all pretentious. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy with a kolohe (mischievous) sense of humor.”  U.S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirano commented, “He was my friend and supporter. He was a colorful and humble man who had a great sense of loyalty and friendship. I certainly miss Mala.”  (Acknowledgments: Hawaii Advertizer, Hawaii Filipino News, Wikipedia),

Passings:

Fremont CA resident Erlene Regina (Agraviador) Falsken, 89, born on May 23, 1934 to Visayan immigrants Dionicio and Ramona Agraviador, passed away on March 7, 2024.  She is survived by her husband Alvin, three children Christy (Galanida) Meyers and James Galanida III, Edward Falsken, and three grandchildren……………… Longtime auto service manager Frank Edralin, 86, of Sacramento died on November 8, 2023.  He was born on April 23, 1938 in Isleton CA and was married to the former Nina Plaza for 63 years…………….. Robert Galanida, 80, of Walnut Creek CA died on March 7, 2024.  Born on October 6, 1943 in Salinas CA, the multi-talented Robert worked as a computer programmer and travel agent, was a mechanic/architect in his spare time, and a sometime banduria player in a Philippine rondella ensemble.  He is survived by his wife Genie; two children Robert Galanida Jr. and Jacqueline (Galanida) Dutra; three siblings Helen Agraviador, David Galanida, and Nancy Baltonado; two half-brothers Dan and Paul Poland; and two grandchildren……………….. Angelina (Revillar) Agpawa, 94, passed away on March 14, 2014 in Concord MA surrounded by her family.  One of thirteen children of a Stockton pioneer family, she was born on September 27, 1929.  A graduate of the University of Pacific, Angie was employed as a senior technical editor by the Navy Department…………… Succumbing to prostate cancer, Hansel Robles, 89, of Orinda CA died on March 23, 2024.  Born on March 20, 1935 in San Francisco, he was the fifth child from a family of nine children of Ilocano immigrants.  Hansel is survived by his wife, Betty, two children, five grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.

Happy May Birthdays to:

Bernie Cantil, Jeannette (Castillano) Tiffany, Jose Fidel, Irene (Plaza) Edralin, Walter Yuponco

Pinakbet — News Across America

Filipino American Historical Tidbits:

On October 18, 1587 the Spanish galleon La Nuestra de Eperanza, dropped anchor in what is now Morro Bay CA.  Its crew included a small number of Luzones Indios (Filipinos) — the first recorded arrival of Filipinos in America. A plaque memorializing the event was dedicated on October 21, 1995 by the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS)……………. On April 1939, 6,000 Filipino asparagus workers, organized as the Filipino Agricultural Laborer’ Association, went on strike during the height of the asparagus season in Stockton CA.

Did You Know:

Hailee Steinfield‘s grandfather is from Bohol, Philippines.  Movie fans will recall she won an Oscar as supporting role actress in the movie  True Grit………….. Anthony Volpe, second year shortstop of the New York Yankees had a red hot start, batting .571 in the first five games of the baseball season as the Yankees swept the World Series champion Houston Astros.

Musings

From White Supremacy in America, (to) It has Always been about People of Color, (to) Equitable Justice for People of Color, (to) Multi-racial Democracy Weakened, (to) Political/Gun Violence) Part XLIV:

Is the U.S. Supreme Court contributing to the weakening of American democracy?  Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) would seem to indicate so. On March 4 the nation’s highest court rejected the Iowa State Supreme Court decision to disallow Trump’s name on its primary election ballot, despite support of the measure from some of the foremost judicial experts in America. Then, on March 6 SCOTUS agreed to hear the claim of  the twice impeached and four-times indicted ex-president Donald Trump of presidential immunity from prosecution on charges related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.  Its agreement to hear the case will seriously delay the criminal prosecution being pursued by Special Counsel Jack Smith until after the November 2024 elections.

These recent decisions by SCOTUS appear to support the decades long Republican Party’s desire for a conservative, veto-proof Supreme Court. Readers may recall U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s February 2016 statement that the Republican-led chamber will refuse to consider anyone President Barack Obama nominates to become a Supreme Court Justice — an unprecedented blockade that McConnell said would be lifted by the expected next president. When Trump was elected, he immediately filled the seat with conservative Neil Gorsuch — an unprecedented 263-day vacancy.  In Trump’s only term as president, he was able to fill the Supreme Court with two more conservative justices, thus succeeding in eventually having a veto-proof conservative 6-3 SCOTUS majority. In the ensuing months, SCOTUS overturned the Roe v Wade decision which had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion since 1973 and severely weakened voting and civil rights protections.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s conservative bent, there has been a virtual avalanche of anti-reproductive rights and anti-voting rights among the states.  If such extremist state legislation become legion, America’s democracy is certain to be weakened. The nation will increasingly be under authoritarian rule. If Trump wins the Presidential election in November, he promises: (1) to immediately fire or destroy his enemies, (2) to have the armed forces enforce his policies, (3) to have the Justice Dept justify attacks on individuals and organizations he deems as enemies, (4) to eliminate the Department of Education and the Affordable Health Act (Obama Care), (5) to make massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and (6) “to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” — (translation: deportations will be Persons of Color.)  Are you ready for all this???

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  VOTE ON NOVEMBER 5, 2024

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