"BUGAL" NATON
ILONGGOS IN PROFILE:
THE ILONGGO INTERNATIONAL HERO
Graciano Lopez Jaena
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"Neither gratitude nor appreciation has anything to do with rejecting what is wrong, censuring what is bad, exposing the ills that afflict society in order to remedy them. When our parents are wrong, we say they are wrong; when past generations committed mistakes, we say they had made mistakes. For saying this, neither are we ungrateful to them nor disrespectful to their memory."
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MGA BAG-ONG BAGANIHAN: THE OVERSEAS CONTRACT WORKERS AND THE EXPATRIATES...."SALAMAT SA INYO TANAN! "
ILONGGOS IN SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE:
"The only ones among you who will really be happy, are those who have sought, and found how to serve." Albert Schweitzer...
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Metro Washington DC "Ilongga" a Distinguished Community Service Awardee
MRS THELMA NINONUEVO BILLY of Fairfax, Virginia-- a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Ilonggos-Metropolitan Washington D.C. (AIM) Inc. is the Recipient of the 2006 3rd Annual DISTINGUISHED COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD sponsored by the prestigious Asian American Business Roundtable (AABR). Awarding ceremonies shall be at the North Bethesda Marriott in Rockville, Maryland on November 10, 2006.
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List of Awardees:
1) Humanitarian of the Year – Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, Asst. Secretary of State
2) Distinguished Community Service – Thelma N. Billy (Fairfax, VA)
3) Posthumous Award for Public Service – The Late Raul Quiroz, MBDA
4) Public Servant of the Year – Michael McHale, Assoc. Adm. for HUBZone, SBA
5) Lifelong Achievement – Tony Pizarro (IME, San Diego, CA)
6) Entrepreneur of the Year – Chris Baltazar (FilNet, Inc., Alexandria, VA)
7) Asian-Owned Business of the Year – Magrabbit, Inc. (Austin, TX)
8) African American-Owned Business of the Year–ARES Intl Security(Alexandria, VA)
9) Hispanic-Owned Business of the Year – Kira, Inc. (Miami, FL)
10) Native American-Owned Business of the Year – NAID, Inc. (Upper Marlboro, MD)
11) Subcontractor of the Year – JEM Engineering, Inc. (Laurel, MD)
12) Prime Contractor of the Year – RTI (Research Triangle Park, NC)
13) President’s Award of the Year – ITSC (Falls Church, VA)
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THELMA BILLY, well known to the hordes of homeless roaming the streets of this Nations Capital, hails from Lapaz, Iloilo City and Fabrica, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Her regular weekly "Feed the Homeless" schedule outside the Center for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV)-- a Homeless Shelter in Washington DC --- is a personal commitment she fulfills religiously for the past ten years.
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An active member of AIM, Inc., she facilitates regular shipment of Balikbayan Boxes in containerized vans of brand new and slightly used clothing, canned goods, books, etc. to depressed barangays in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in coordination with local church leaders and NGOs. The systematic collection of US donations is done with the help of her Parish Church, the Knights of Columbus, generous friends, close acquaintances and even school children.
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With proper recommendation, displaced and jobless Pinoys and others of different ethnic backgrounds can always rely on her kind support and generous assistance from Thelma N. Billy
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When asked how her personal crusade started and why, here's what she narrated:
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"About 10 years ago--- without even knowing it-- tears fell when I saw two obviously homeless guys quarreling over left-over food from the trash bin, so I gave each $5.00."
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When asked if she accepts monetary donations, she replied "not cash, just in kind."
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Thelma is married to Lt. Cmdr. George Hamilton Billy, USN (Ret), Past Grand Knight (PGK) of the Knights of Columbus--- Fr. Diamond Council of St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax, Virginia. The couple who have two children, Elizabeth and George Michael III, also donated $1,000.00 to Gawad Kalinga "AIM-Iloilo Village Project" squatters relocation site in Buntatala, Jaro, Iloilo City.
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Likewise, Mrs. Dolores Marie Billy-- the family matriarch--- financed the construction of Santa Monica Church in Oton, Iloilo. Her continued support, serves not only the spiritual but sometimes even medical needs of Barangay Santa Monica less fortunate residents.
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We salute! the Billy Family --for their continuous generosity--- SALAMAT GUID!
(Source: AIM-BudyongNewsletter: Spring-2005 Issue):
Carlos Dominguez Jr., a member of the 4-H club in Barangay Bololacao, is the outstanding young farmer of Western Visayas for 2006 in the annual search for the Outstanding Agri-Fishery Achievers conducted by the Department of Agriculture.
Caloy, as he is fondly called by his family and friends, is a farmer-entrepreneur. He grows hito and native chicken and serves grilled hito and binakol in the family-owned Dominguez Inland Resort.
Even though their farm is hilly and unproductive, a land awarded to them by their landlord because his father tilled the area for 45 years, the family converted it to the farm with multiple crops, livestock and poultry and fishpond. Aside from vegetables they planted the area with coconut, guava, banana, calamansi and corn. Their farm is very productive because he uses organic fertilizer.
With these achievements, Caloy was declared as one of the outstanding 4-H Club members in Iloilo. Thus, it enabled him to qualify as a scholar under the program Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC).
In Japan, Caloy was trained on modern organic farming, thus, after his one-year stay there, Caloy adopted the technology in his farm. He shared his knowledge on modern organic farming with the other farmers not only in New Lucena, but from other towns as well through lakbay-aral being conducted in their farm.
Caloy proves that vegetable growing is profitable because he does not spend a single centavo on pesticides. Aside from being pesticides free, vegetables are grown using bamboo sticks.
The search for the outstanding agri-achievers is conducted annually by the DA to give due recognition to the achievement of the farmers and fishermen in agriculture and their contribution to the upliftment of economic status of the majority of the population.
The search is a venue wherein the impact and influence of farm activities of the farmers to the community and Western Visayas has already produced several national awardees in the search for agri-achievers. At present, these national awardees are successful in their respective agricultural endeavor. (Theresa A. Gerafil/Rafid 6)
(June 20, 2006 issue)
PROFESSOR JOSETTE BIYO - From Janiuay, Iloilo is the winner of the 2003 Intel Excellence in Teaching Award; Dr. Biyo bested 4,000 teachers from around the world to win the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. the First Filipino and First Asian to receive the Prestigious Award. A reception party in her honor was tendered by Ilonggos of Metro Washington DC (AIM, Inc.) at the home of Nestor and Dra. Willie Camina in Montgomery County, Maryland on Sept. 26, 2004.
Honest Pinoy Cabbie feted in Alexandria
Dubbed by the American mainstream media as the "Honest Cab Driver of New York" and in the Philippines as "Bagong Bayani ng Pilipinas", Nestor Ortiz Suplico was all smiles during a welcome party last month in Alexandria, Virginia hosted by Connie Manalo Pruitt of Sta. Rita, Pampanga.
About 120 guests joined the fun-filled occasion of picture-taking, good food and spirits, sing-along and dancing. Present were members of the Association of Ilonggos of Metropolitan Washington D.C.(AIM) led by president Zeny Tabligan and Dr. Emma Dacquel, founding president of AIM, Inc.- Sulpico hails from Leganes, Iloilo.
Monching Jocson welcomed the guests with Merlyn. Mario Acap came with daughter Mariah together with Helen; Vicpaul Guevarra also came with Benny Sian, Jess and Rochelle Lopez. Alex Caaya enjoyed singing while Rudy "Dinggol" Divinagracia acted as emcee.
Also present were Evelyn R. Holt, president of the American Federation of Government Employees; Paul Lozano, chairman of Circulo Pampangueno; Alan and Lulut Chan, Aurea Mabib, Sylvia Nera and a group of Filipino nurses from Canada and many others.
Nestor gained international fame by returning rare black pearls worth $70,000 left by passenger in his taxi cab in New York City last year.
Rudy Divinagracia, executive vice president of AIM, thanked Nestor for making the Filipino nation proud and "taas nuo" to the whole world at a time when we needed it most. He also endorsed him as a candidate for public office in the Philippines.
(Courtesy of Manila Mail- June 30, 2005)
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Photo Below taken at Alexandria, Virginia during Welcome Party in honor of Nestor Ortiz Sulpico. (Left to Right):
Monching Jocson-Nestor Sulpico-Dinggol Divinagracia
