ANGELES CITY – The United Philippine Amerasian (UPA) has asked a Pampanga congressman to sponsor a resolution in Congress declaring March 4 as Amerasian Day in the Philippines.
In a letter signed by steering committee members Christine Shane Jackson and Mark Gilbore, the UPA wants First District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin to sponsor the resolution for the benefit of some 52,000 Amerasians, most of whom are children of US military personnel formerly based at Clark and Subic.
The number of Amerasians was based on the study conducted by the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies in 1999.
The UPA also asked the national government to support the resolution before the House of Representatives.
The UPA said that Olongapo City is the only government unit with a significant population of Amerasians that has passed a resolution declaring March 4 as National Filipino Amerasian Day.
Resolution 17, series of 2001, was unanimously approved by the city council.
“According to a study in 1999, poverty, psychological stress, discrimination, abuse and the longing for identity are the issues that confront our Amerasian brethren,” said the resolution.
On March 4, the UPA-Pampanga chapter will hold a one-day activity at Ibes Resort, Santa Cruz, Porac.
The UPA urged Lazatin and other guests to speak about “child rights, human rights and women’s rights of Filipino Amerasians and how they are being violated by (or lack of) existing policies, cultural norms and discriminatory behavior of some fellow Filipinos.”
