Do You Know How Many Filipino Immigrants Are in US Today?

This week, my curiosity was aroused when my next door neighbor ( white Anglo-Saxon ancestry) asked me, how many Filipino-Americans are now residing in US. I was not able to answer him, so I told him I do some google search on it. I ask him why he asks the question. He replied, that last month he was in Daly City, CA at the mall. He observed that about 90% of the shoppers were Filipino-looking. That day, he was also invited by his Filipino-American friend to their house in Hercules, CA. About 75%of the residents in Hercules are Filipino-American according to his friend.

The following article "Filipino Immigrants in the United States" is by Aaron Terrazas and Jeanne Batalova of the Migration Policy Institute dated April, 2010

The United States is home to about 1.7 million Filipino immigrants, making them the second-largest immigrant group in the United States after Mexican immigrants.

The Filipino immigrant population grew rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s and has continued to grow (although at a slightly slower pace) since then. In addition, the United States is home to about 1.4 million native-born US citizens who claim Filipino ancestry.

Heavily concentrated in the western United States, the Filipino born account for almost half of all immigrants in Hawaii (for more information on immigrants by state, please see the ACS/Census Data tool on the MPI Data Hub). Compared to other immigrant groups, Filipinos are better educated than the immigrant population overall, and Filipino immigrant women are more likely than other immigrant women to participate in the civilian labor force.

This spotlight focuses on Filipino immigrants residing in the United States, examining the population's size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics using data from the US Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2000 Decennial Census, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) for 2008.

Size and Distribution

•There were about 1.7 million foreign born from the Philippines residing in the United States in 2008.
•Nearly half of the Filipino born resided in California.
•The Filipino born accounted for a large share of all immigrants in Western states.
•Between 2000 and 2008, three states saw the size of their Filipino immigrant population grow by 25,000 people or more.
•More than one-third of Filipino immigrants resided in three metropolitan areas.
•Filipinos were two of every five immigrants in Honolulu.
•There were 2.9 million members of the Filipino diaspora residing in the United States in 2008, including 1.4 million native-born US citizens of Filipino ancestry.
Demographic and Socioeconomic Overview
•Over one-quarter of all Filipino foreign born in the United States arrived in 2000 or later.
•Almost two-thirds of Filipino immigrants in 2008 were adults of working age.
•Filipino immigrant women outnumbered men in 2008.
•Filipino immigrants were much more likely than other immigrant groups to be naturalized US citizens.
•Less than one-third of Filipino immigrants in 2008 were limited English proficient.
•A minority of limited English proficient Filipinos did not speak Tagalog, one of the national languages of the Philippines.
•Over three-quarters of Filipino foreign-born adults had some college education or higher. •Filipino immigrant women were more likely to participate in the civilian labor force than foreign-born women overall.
•Almost one-third of employed Filipino-born men worked in health-care support or in construction, extraction, and transportation.
•Nearly one of every four employed Filipino-born women worked as a registered nurse.
•Filipino immigrants were far less likely to live in poverty than other immigrant groups.
•Filipino immigrants were more likely than other immigrants to own their own home, but they were also more likely to have a mortgage.
•One in 10 Filipino immigrants did not have health insurance.
•About 87,000 Filipino immigrants have served in the US Armed Forces.
Legal and Unauthorized Filipino Immigrant Population
•The Filipino foreign born accounted for about 4.5 percent of all lawful permanent residents living in the United States in 2008.
•More than half a million Filipinos gained lawful permanent residence in the United States between 1999 and 2008.
•Over half of Filipino-born lawful permanent residents in 2008 were admitted as the immediate relatives of US citizens.
•Filipino-born lawful permanent residents made up 3.7 percent of all those eligible to naturalize as of 2008.
•In 2009, 2 percent of all unauthorized immigrants in the United States were from the Philippines.
•The number of unauthorized immigrants from the Philippines increased by one-third between 2000 and 2009.

Definitions
The US Census Bureau defines the foreign born as individuals who had no US citizenship at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or certain other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.

The terms foreign born and immigrant are used interchangeably. Here's an interesting video about Filipino-Americans.



Addendum to this Video: In 1990, I was the first Filipino-American Review Chemist hired by USFDA Center of New Drugs, Silver Spring, MD. In 1996, I was promoted to Chemistry Team Leader. As far as I knew, I was the first Filipino-American Chemistry Team Leader and so far the only one in the history of the USFDA Center of New Drugs. In 2002, when I retired there were several Filipino-Americans working as Medical Reviewers, in Project Management and in Administration Office, but none in the Chemistry Division of New Drugs. I know I was the only Filipino-American Chemist out of more than 100 chemistry Reviewers in the Center of New Drugs, since we have meetings every month and I know all of the Chemistry Reviewers and Team Leaders at that time. For details on my professional career in USFDA, visit:
http://theintellectualmigrant.blogspot.com

Family Pictures and Pleasant Memories Slide Show

Family Pictures And Pleasant Memories Slideshow: David’s trip from Citrus Heights, California, United States to 17 cities Houston, Washington DC, Vancouver, Maui, Sacramento, Manila, Silver Spring, Modesto, Walnut Creek, Makati, Los Gatos, Richmond, Baguio, Placerville, Paradise, Iloilo City and Marinduque was created by TripAdvisor. See another United States slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

Destruction of Philippines Coral Reefs-Only 5% Remain

Only 5% of PHL coral reefs remain is the latest news from the Business Mirror. The article was written by Imelda V. Abano, and posted on 05/31/2011.

I am reacting to this article with disbelief and horror, if this is indeed correct. Here's the article:

"Read this and weep:

A marine scientist from the University of the Philippines has revealed that only 5 percent —equivalent to just around 1,000 square kilometers—of the country’s total reef area remain in good condition in the face of the wanton destruction of our coral reefs by poachers.

The estimated reef area of the Philippines ranges from 19,000 to 27,000 square kilometers, depending on the territorial boundaries and depth ranges. This makes the Philippines’s reef areas one of the biggest in Southeast Asia, more so if those in the disputed Kalayaan Islands were included.

The revelation of Dr. Porfirio Alino of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) comes on the heels of published reports about the destruction of a reef area in Southern Mindanao that is five times bigger than Metro Manila.

The Philippines is the center of marine biodiversity in the world, Alino said, but this distinction may not stand for long as coral reefs in the country are deteriorating very rapidly.

He said only 5 percent of the country’s total reef area is now in good condition. A recent assessment by a team of Filipino marine experts showed that the healthy reefs were in the Celebes Sea, Southern Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea and the waters in the Visayas.

Combined, these healthy patches of coral reefs would span an area a little bigger than Marinduque, a small island-province in Southern Tagalog that covers 959 sq km.“Our estimates suggest that there are only a few reefs in excellent condition, meaning good reefs with healthy reef biomass and diversity,” Alino told the BusinessMirror. “There has also been a profound reduction by around 20 percent, especially in the Visayan seas, of the marine reef fish biodiversity in the last three decades.”

There are more than 400 species of reef-forming corals in the country. Philippine coral reefs are part of a larger system that is home to 76 percent of all known corals called the Coral Triangle that covers the seas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

In the Philippines an estimated 8 percent to 20 percent of the total fisheries come from coral reefs, and about 70 percent of the incomes of small island-communities come from fisheries, Alino said.

While corals have survived for hundreds of millions of years by adapting to and recovering from major climate changes, there is a question now on how they can survive the additional stresses caused by humans.

Cyanide fishing, pollution, overdevelopment along the shore and reckless recreation (coral collection) are some of the threats to these delicate ocean habitats.Taking action
If the reefs vanished, experts say, hunger, poverty and political instability could ensue. An estimated 1 billion people across Asia alone depend on them for food and livelihoods.

Further declines in the coastal ecosystem’s goods and services will affect the livelihood of at least 4 million to 6 million Filipinos in the next decade.

The fishers have been identified as the poorest of the poor sectors in the country, thus, becoming more impoverished due to food deficits and decrease in livelihood incomes.

The reefs also generate millions of dollars in tourism and employment. According to the Washington-based World Resources Institute, the total economic value of reefs in the Philippines is estimated to be $1.1 billion annually.

The country’s coastal and marine resources require investments of at least 1 percent of gross domestic product to improve efforts to safeguard them and to ensure the sustainable development of the marine and ecosystem’s goods and services, such as fisheries, coastal tourism, energy and mineral resources.

“The threat of losing our biodiversity is really serious,” said Rodel Subade, director of the UP Visayas Institute of Fisheries, Policy and Development Studies, in a recent interview. “For it [threat] to be stopped, we would need the participation of all stakeholders, particularly the people in the community near the biodiversity areas. But this is difficult to attain or sustain.”

Subade suggested that re-education or an information campaign needed to be strengthened, coupled with the introduction of alternative livelihood, which would complement biodiversity conservation.

Alino said opportunities for diversifying livelihoods for fishermen should be pursued.

Over the years, the government enacted many laws to protect the natural environment on the archipelago its territorial waters.

Such laws include Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) and the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, or Republic Act 7586 of 1992. In 1994 the Philippines adopted a National Marine Policy to develop a comprehensive program aimed at managing coastal and marine resources, in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Most recently, under Section 81 of the 1998 Philippine Fisheries Code, fish sanctuaries or marine-protected areas (MPAs) were established.

Both Subade and Alino agreed that the establishment of MPAs benefited not only marine life but also people who depended on it for their livelihood.

“The establishment and maintenance of MPAs has become the most effective tool or approach in saving the last remaining coral reefs in the country,” Subade said.

But Alino said in a study he conducted, he found that of the more than 600 MPAs that have been established, only around 10 percent were actually being managed effectively. Still, he noted an increase in the number of local government units cooperating in the coral-reefs protection program.

“Strong national policies are imperative,” he said and cited the need for interaction among local government units to solve the problem. He lamented that the capability of national government agencies to act decisively on marine problems appears to have diminished in recent years. He said there was a need to provide more support “to enhance their capacity to provide technical assistance and improve their capability to fight crimes against our natural heritage.”

Alino also urged that a coral-reef trust fund for resource management should be established.

In 2009 the government, through the Department of Science and Technology, funded a P39-million three-year collaborative climate-research program to determine the range of coral- reef ecosystem vulnerabilities. The program was called the Integrated Coastal Enhancement: Climate Research, Enhancement and Adaptive Management.

Dr. Laura David, an oceanographer at the UP Marine Science Institute, said earlier that their research had revealed coral bleaching, rising water temperature and coastal erosion in several parts of the Philippine coastline.

“We are in the process of understanding and monitoring the behavior of the coastal ecosystem in order to meet the diverse challenges and opportunities that climate change brings,” David said. Here's a video for more information on this subject.


Shame to those coral reefs poachers and their greed for money to the detriment of our nation coral reefs. Is there anything an ordinary citizens like me can do to stop the destruction of our coral reefs?

Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Men (The Battered Husband)

The first time I heard of a case of a battered husband was about 10 years ago when I was still working for FDA. One of the Review Chemist I had supervised confided in me, that the reason he is now divorce is that his former wife has been beating him almost at least once a month for the last two years. At first, he just protected himself, but after the fourth beating, he reported it to the police. The police came to their apartment, investigated and nothing else happened. The physical and mental abuse continued until he finally decided to break the marriage and left his wife. There was a restraining order issued against his wife.

My first reaction is of disbelief. This man although soft spoken is 6.6 ft, athletic and very masculine. He has a also a Ph. D degree in Chemistry, very personable,and friendly. I ask myself, Is this man telling the truth? But the way he confided in me was very convincing and I believe him. The abuse was not only physical but also mental according to him. The guy is about 45 years old and the couple have no children.

The second case of a battered husband that I heard was just recently in the Philippines. This case is sad and really touched my heart since the battered husband is a close relative of my wife. During one of our many family reunions, I noticed the absence of his wife. I ask him why his wife is not around. He said, I do not have a wife anymore, will you help me Tito to look for another. I was embarrassed for asking the question and totally forgot about the incident. However, the next day, I was talking to his Mom. She told me about the domestic abuse that his son has tolerated for the last 10 years. It was only last year that he told his Dad and Mom of what is going on. They are now separated. They separated couple have 2 children, 9and 2 years old. The children are with him, but his wife has visiting rights. In this case the abuse is also both physical and mental. As in case number one above, this man is good looking, athletic, very personable, and intelligent. This guy is only 39 years old. The above two cases prompted me to do a google search on this subject of battered men as follows:

Why Do We Know So Little About Domestic Abuse And Violence Against Men?
There are many reasons why we don't know more about domestic abuse and violence against men. First of all, the incidence of domestic violence reported men appears to be so low that it is hard to get reliable estimates. In addition, it has taken years of advocacy and support to encourage women to report domestic violence. Virtually nothing has been done to encourage men to report abuse. The idea that men could be victims of domestic abuse and violence is so unthinkable that many men will not even attempt to report the situation.

The dynamic of domestic abuse and violence is also different between men and women. The reasons, purposes and motivations are often very different between sexes. Although the counseling and psychological community have responded to domestic abuse and violence against women, there has been very little investment in resources to address and understand the issues of domestic abuse and violence against men. In most cases, the actual physical damage inflicted by men is so much greater than the actual physical harm inflected by women. The impact of domestic violence is less apparent and less likely to come to the attention of others when men are abused. For example, it is assumed than a man with a bruise or black eye was in a fight with another man or was injured on the job or playing contact sports. Even when men do report domestic abuse and violence, most people are so astonished men usually end up feeling like nobody believes them.

Do you know of a case of battered men? Here's a video for additional information on this unrecognized but important subject. Your comments will be appreciated.

Let's Go and have Fun in Intercourse, Pennsylvania!

Last year, I posted in one of my blogs a list of unusual and delightfully named places in the US ( about 50 names) because of the implied connotation. In this list the most delightfully named towns in the US is Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Would you believe it is an Amish town? So, where in the heck is this town with a sexually suggested name? Here's what Wikipedia says:

Intercourse, Pennsylvania (pop. roughly 1,558) is an unincorporated village in Leacock Township, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, ten miles east of Lancaster on PA 340. As with the nearby towns of Bird-in-Hand, Blue Ball, and Paradise, Intercourse is a popular site for tourists because of its location in "Amish country" and its sexually suggestive name. The movie Witness was filmed in Intercourse as well as other parts of the surrounding area, and For Richer or Poorer was set there, though not filmed in Intercourse. Because of the town's unusual name, the sign posts for the town are frequently targeted by thieves.

Tourism and farming are major industries in the area. Small businesses sell Amish crafts, food, and give horse and buggy rides. The town thrives on thousands of tourists who visit the region each year. Most of the land surrounding the town is farmland.

Intercourse was founded in 1754. The community was originally named Cross Keys, after a local tavern. Intercourse became the name in 1814. The village website gives several theories for the origins of the name.

"Another theory concerns two famous roads that crossed here. The Old King's highway from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (now the Old Philadelphia Pike) ran east and west through the center of the town. The road from Wilmington to Erie intersected in the middle. The joining of these two roads is claimed by some to be the basis for the town 'Cross Keys' or eventually 'Intercourse'. A final idea comes from the use of language during the early days of the Village. The word 'intercourse' was commonly used to describe the 'fellowship' and 'social interaction and support' shared in the community of faith, which was much a part of a rural village like this one."

The village's name is often the subject of jokes relating to sexual intercourse. Along with that of Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, the publishers of the Eros Magazine, sought mailing privileges from the postmasters of the town. Intercourse and Blue Ball are often named in lists of "delightfully-named towns" in Pennsylvania Dutchland, along with Mount Joy, Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise.

Nearby sites of interest are: Amish and Mennonite Tourist Information Center, American Military Edged Weapons Museum, People's Place Quilt Museum Museums and Historic Sites, American Military Edged Weaponry Museum and People's Place Quilt Museum. Here's a short video for your viewing pleasure.

Let's go and have fun in Intercourse, PA this summer! It is not too far from Philadelphia, PA.

Have you Heard of Manila, Arkansas or of Manila, California ?

Manila, California
I believe a majority of Filipinos or Filipino-Americans have never heard of the two towns above. I did not know about these two towns until just recently, when one of my friends in the Philippines mentioned that he has a relative in Manila, California. So I went to Google and here's what I found.

Manila, California is a census-designated place in Humboldt County. It is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) north of downtown Eureka, at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m). The ZIP Code is 95521. The population was 784 at the 2010 census. The town was founded at the end of World War II, and named after Manila in the Philippines.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Manila had a population of 784. The racial makeup of Manila was 686 White, 14 African American, 25 Native American, 5 Asian, 12 from other races, and 42 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30 persons.

Manila, Arkansas

There is another town called Manila in Arkansas. The original name of this town was "Cindy". There was a WWII war hero who hailed from the town of Cindy. He was serving in Manila, Philippines when he won a purple heart and saved his whole platoon. His town, Cindy, was so proud of him they renamed the city after the city in which he became a war hero, Manila, Philippines. There is also a life-sized statue of him on the corner of the highway and the business district that happens to be the smallest state park in the State of Arkansas. The population was 3,055 at the 2000 census. It was the hometown of World War I sniper Herman Davis. A park in the town honors his memory today. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.4 km²), all of it land.

Interesting indeed!