PABA Announces Board Members and Officers for 2008-2009

The following individuals will be inducted as Board Members and Officers for the upcoming year:

President

Francisco "Kiko" Ochoa

President-Elect

Arnold Pamplona

Secretary

M. Cecilia Amo

Treasurer

Angeli Aragon

Student Member

Hildegarde B. Aguinaldo

Chair of the Board

Benjamin J. Hofilena, Jr.

******************************

Board of Governors:

Martoni Acosta

Eduardo Angeles

Allison Aquino

Melvin N. A. Avanzado

Bernia LaForteza

Carina Castaneda

Grace Ann Cayanan

Joy De Leon

Laurie A. Dee

Marsha-laine F. Dungog

Lorinda D. Franco

Christine J. Gonong

Daphne Borromeo Hall

Emma Hilario

Darren A. Manibog

Ireneo A. Reus III

Greg Santiago

Carolyn Enciso Sieve

Vince M. Verde

Gilbert J. Villaflor

Michael Y. Ty

SAVE THE DATE!

PABA Requests Meeting With Schwarzenegger Administration Regarding Judicial Appointments

On December 6, 2007, the Philippine American Bar Association sent California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a letter to bring his attention to the lack of judicial appointments of Filipino-Americans to the state's judiciary.

The following is an excerpt from the letter:

Unfortunately, the substantial contributions of the Filipino–American community to this state are not reflected in the makeup of our judiciary. According to our research, there are only nine Superior Court Judges (out of approximately 1,500) and one Appellate Court Justice (out of approximately 105) in California that are of Filipino ancestry. These disproportionately small numbers, which include appointments made during your administration, are even more disturbing when one considers that half of these judges are at or close to retirement age and are projected to retire within the next two years. The geographic distribution of these judges underscores the demographic underrepresentation of Filipinos on the bench: there is only one judge of Filipino ancestry in the Greater Bay Area (San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay); there are currently no judges of Filipino ancestry in San Diego County; and no Filipino–American has ever been appointed to serve in San Mateo County, which encompasses Daly City—the area with the largest concentration of Filipinos outside of the city of Manila in the Philippines. In Los Angeles County, no Filipino–American has been appointed to the bench since 2003.

You can view the letter, in its entirety, here.

Want to Bend the Ear of the Woman With the Power to Appoint More Filipino-American Judges?

On Friday, January 11, 2008, the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and the law firm of Reed Smith will host a wine and cheese reception for Sharon Majors-Lewis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Judicial Appointments Secretary. PABA is a co-sponsor of the event.

If you would like to attend, make sure to RSVP as soon as possible, as space is very limited. Please click on the flyer below for more details.

Toy Drive and Mixer to Support SIPA on Thursday, December 6

PABA once again joins the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, other local APA bar associations, APEX, and other APA community groups for our 8th Annual Holiday Toy Drive and Networking Reception, to be held on Thursday, December 6, 2007, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Holiday Toy Drive and Networking Reception will take place at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, 1145 Wilshire Boulevard (corner of Lucas Avenue), in downtown Los Angeles. PABA has selected Search To Involve Pilipino Americans as its beneficiary to receive toys from this event.

There will be a Raffle for a Pair of Round-trip Tickets to Anywhere Southwest Airlines Flies. Raffle tickets are $5.00 a ticket or 5 tickets for $20.00. All proceeds will go toward the purchase of new toys for recipient organizations. Winner need not be present to win. Call APALC at (213) 977-7500 x 201 to purchase raffle tickets in advance.

Admission is $15 or a new, unwrapped toy with a value of at least $15, which will be donated to one of several APA charities for their respective holiday gift-giving programs. In addition, donations of gift cards will also be gratefully accepted in lieu of toys.

Please see the attached flyer for more details about the event.

Volunteers are also needed to help with the event and toy distribution. Corporations or individuals wishing to become Toy Sponsors can do so for as little as $100.00.

To volunteer or for more information about becoming a Toy Sponsor, please contact Cecilia Amo at camo@cochranfirm.com