Action King Fernando Poe Jr.

People call him the "King of Action Movies". For more than four decades now, he has ruled the local big screen, even putting in the sideline another actor and friend who became more successful in politics. Fernando Poe Jr. is an icon admired by millions of Filipinos and by his best friend, no less than former President Joseph Estrada. They have been close friends since their days together in the early '60s as stars of action movies. It was Poe who first used the word "Erap" to refer to former President Estrada.

As an actor, Poe has mastered the role of a kind-hearted, selfless and invincible super hero who defends the aggrieved people against the forces of evil. The Filipino viewers look up to him because he represents the good and noble in Filipino culture. He was born Ron Allan but had to change his name to bank on the popularity of his father who was a top actor in his time. Fernando Poe Sr. died from a dog's rabies at 35, leaving the young Poe as the family's breadwinner. At 14, the young Poe began his career with a starring role in "Anak ni Palaris".

He made his first mark in the '60s with "Tatlong Hari". He was an award-winning actor, having accumulated the most number of best actor awards at FAMAS. He won awards for Mga Alabok ng Lupa (1967), Asedillo (1971), Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979), Umpisahan Mo, Tatapusin Ko (1983), and Magnum 357 (1987). In most of his films, Poe has doubled either as a director or a producer. As a director, he used the name "Ronwaldo Reyes".

Lately, there were rumors that Poe might seek the presidency in the year 2004. It would be easy enough for him, considering that he enjoys the same mass-based popularity that catapulted his friend to Malacañang. Poe, however, had no experience in politics, except for his joining the political campaigns of former President Estrada in 1998.

Broadway Diva Lea Salonga

We first knew her as a ten-year-old girl singing "I Am But A Small Voice" in 1981. With her sweet and tender music, the young Lea Salonga charmed a crowd of foreign diplomats who gave her a standing ovation. Two decades passed, and the young girl with a small voice blossomed into a fine lady who gave her nation pride and inspiration. Now at 31, Lea's voice has not only been the most heard, but also the most enjoyed, among Filipino performers. And her country is mighty proud of her because what she has become, as a "citizen of the world" (a phrase in her song), now represents a tale of achievement every Filipino mother tells her children.

Lea was born in Manila on February 22, 1971 to Feliciano Salonga and Ligaya Imutan. She has two siblings - Gerard and Sheila. As a young performer, she appeared in various television programs and joined several stage plays while studying elementary and high school at the OB Montessori, where she graduated with flying colors. In 1989, she auditioned and was accepted for the lead role in Miss Saigon, the multi-million-dollar production of Sir Cameron Mackintosh. During the audition, she sang "On My Own", a ballad from the musical play Les Miserables. Lea eventually got the part of Kim and moved to London's West End where she stayed for two years.

In London, Lea received the most coveted Laurence Olivier Award for playing the role of Kim. It was the start of a series of international awards that were about to come her way. When the musicale moved to New York's Broadway in 1991, Lea won the prestigious Tony Awards, Outer Critics' Circle, and Theater World Awards. Her stint at Miss Saigon also paved the way for bigger opportunities. The magnificent singing voice of Princess Jasmine in the Walt Disney animated production, Aladdin belongs to her. She became the first Filipino to have performed at the celebrated Oscar Awards, when she rendered the Disney song "A Whole New World" before Hollywood celebrities during the 65th annual event in Los Angeles.

Lea also had the chance to perform before the most prominent persons in the world. She was invited twice to the White House, first to sing in a social gathering hosted by former First Lady Barbara Bush, then to grace an occasion hosted by President Bill Clinton. While in England, she was invited to the Buckingham Palace to perform before Queen Elizabeth II. In 1993, she played the role of Eponine in the Broadway production of Victor Hugo's novel, Les Misérables. She went on to appear in the London and Honolulu productions of the same play whose music and lyrics were composed by the same people behind Miss Saigon: Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.

In the words of Rosalinda Orosa, a writer on Filipino culture, Lea did something more than making Filipinos proud. "Lea has made theater history for Filipinos," says Orosa.

Fashion Designer in New York, One of the World's Finest Poets

Fashion Designer in New York
A Filipino-American fashion designer has been making waves in the New York fashion industry. Josie Natorie, who was born in Manila in 1947, owns and manages Natorie Lingerie. In 2001, she was one of the Asian-American awardees of the nonprofit Asians United to Raise Awareness (AURA) Fund.
Natorie was already a successful stockbroker and investment banker even before she established her lingerie business. She had served as the head of the Manila branch of Bache Securities and as an executive of the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch.

One of the World's Finest Poets
Jose Garcia Villa (Doveglion) was one of the world's finest contemporary poets. Villa, who spent most of his life in a New York apartment, was praised by critics for his beautiful poetry. American poet, e.e. cummings even wrote a poem, Doveglion, Adventures in Value, for Villa. Another American poet, Dame Edith had praised Villa's works as being "amongst the most beautiful written in our time." Among Villa's acclaimed works are Many Voices (1939), Poems (1941), Have Come Am Here (1941), Selected Poems and New (1942) and A Doveglion Book of Philippine Poetry (1962). Villa was born in Singalong, Manila on August 5, 1908.

He was expelled from the University of the Philippines (UP) for writing a series of erotic poems, Man Songs in 1929. He migrated to the United States and enrolled at the University of New Mexico where he edited and published a mimeographed literary magazine. In 1973, Villa who used the pen name Doveglion (dove, eagle, lion) received the National Artist Award for Literature from President Ferdinand Marcos. At 88, Villa died on February 7, 1997. He had lived in New York for 67 years.

First Filipino-American Governor, First Filipino New Jersey Mayor

First Filipino-American Governor
Benjamin J. Cayetano is the first and only American of Filipino ancestry who became a state governor in the United States. He was first elected as governor of Hawaii in 1994 and was reelected in 1998. A Democrat and a lawyer by profession, Cayetano had served as a congressman of Hawaii from 1975 to 1978 and as a senator from 1979 to 1986 before becoming a lieutenant governor in 1990.

First Filipino New Jersey Mayor
Robert Rivas, 51, is the first Filipino-American mayor in the New Jersey area. A lawyer by profession, Rivas was elected mayor of Bergenfield in November 1999, with the large support coming from his fellow Filipino-Americans. Bergenfield, a working-class town of 25,000 residents, most of whom are white, is only 15 miles from New York City. Prior to his election, Rivas had served as a Bergenfield councilman (1996-98). While on the City Council, he chaired its Finance, Administration and Personnel Committee and was a member of its Police, Buildings and Grounds; Capital Improvements; and Community Affairs Committees.

He has practiced law for 24 years. He graduated from the Seton Hall University School of Law. He was the president of the Filipino-American Association of Bergenfield from 1997 to 1999. He immigrated to the United States in 1968. The first Filipino-American in US Congress was Virginia Rep. Robert Cortez-Scott, a Harvard alumnus.

First at Harvard School of Medicine

The first Asian to have entered the prestigious Harvard University's School of Medicine is Dr. Fe del Mundo, a world-famous pediatrician. Del Mundo, an International Pediatric Association (IPA) awardee, is an alumna of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine. She was chosen by former President Manuel Quezon to receive a fellowship program at the world's premiere medical school in 1936. She was also the first woman to become a part of the traditionally all-male student body of the medical school. So strong were her academic records that the head of the Pediatrics Department saw no reason not to accept her.

She also studied and trained at Columbia University, University of Chicago, Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 1941, del Mundo has contributed more than 100 articles to medical journals in the U.S., Philippines and India. In 1966, she received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, for her "outstanding service to mankind". In 1977, she was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for outstanding public service.

Filipino Top Student at Wharton

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, considered as the world's top business school by the Businessweek magazine, recognized a Filipino as its best graduating MBA student in May 2001. On May 21, 2001, Victor Franco Calanog received the Thomas Gerrity Leadership Award, the highest honor given to a graduating MBA student by the Wharton School. Calanog, a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, was singled out as the best candidate for the award for his excellence in both academic achievement and extracurricular involvement.

Calanog was the chair of student affairs for the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly, the student government for the graduate and professional students of the 12 schools of the University of Pennsylvania. He also received various scholarship grants from AT&T, Ford Foundation and other companies in the United States. He completed his MBA with a triple major in finance, entrepreneurial management and multinational management at the top of his class. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Filipino Generals in the US

Three Filipino-Americans had the distinction of becoming U।S। Army generals। They are Maj. Gen. Edward Soriano, Brig. Gen. Archine Laano, and Brig. Gen. Antonio Taguba.

Soriano is the only Filipino to have attained the rank of major general in the U.S. Armed Forces. He was born in Pangasinan and migrated to the U.S. with his family at an early age. In 2001, he was the director of operations, readiness and mobilization at the office of America's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans. Laano, on the other hand, is a physician by profession and a 1963 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. President Ronald Reagan appointed him brigadier general in 1988. He also served as the president of the Philippine Medical Association of America and as such, represented the group in several medical missions in the Philippines.

Taguba is the third Filipino American general in the U.S. Armed Forces. He was born in Sampaloc, Manila and moved to Hawaii at age 11. He holds three master's degrees: Public Administration from Webster University, International Relations from Salve Regina College, and National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College.