The return of Yolanda Stern

People in Basilan who knew Yolanda Ortega when she was a little girl knew that she would become somebody when she grew up. She had a strong mind and the determination to get what she wanted. And what she wanted most, even at an early age, was a good education, and to make an impact on people’s lives.

Today, in her 50s, she still bears the good looks of a fair-skinned mestiza, her hair cropped short, and her gait that of an achiever. Her parents were part Spanish and Chinese. She says she is part Zamboangeña, part Yakan and part Tausug.

She finished her elementary and high school in the Zamboanga public school system, and earned a bachelor’s degree in education at the Zamboanga Normal School, and in the 1960s proceeded to the US where she taught (for 23 years) and studied, eventually earning two doctoral degrees, one in education and another in management, from the University of California in Barkeley. Without a doubt a bright and articulate educator, she was also asked to help develop the school curriculum of some schools in the state of California.

She said at last week’s Bulong Pulungan media forum at the Westin Philippine Plaza, that she was part of the "flower culture" that enveloped the young generation of Americans who wanted the war initiated by Americans in Vietnam to end, and questioned the values of their parents. At the same time, she was also studying the status of Filipino migrants in the US, particularly during the period 1901 to 1934.

She became well known as an independent and respected private sector leader in backgrounds in the pursuit of shared vision and goals. She has advocated major issues and concerns affecting the Filipino-American community worldwide, and foremost in her advocacy campaign is the rights and welfare of Filipino World War II veterans. Corollary to this concern, she serves as the international vice-president of the Sons and Daughters of Filipino-American WWII Veterans USA, Inc., which is an active member of the American Coalition of Filipino Veterans.

She lobbied for the passage of the US Senate Bill 1042, otherwise known as the Filipino Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, and worked with various Filipino veterans organizations to negotiate for a mutually beneficial package for the estimated 60,000 surviving veterans, majority of whom are living in the Philippines.

She facilitated the immediate passage of Sen. Resolution No. 357 sponsored by Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan, chair of the Senate peace and unification committee and House Resolution No. 612 sponsored by Rep. Apolinario Lozada Jr. (chair of the House Affairs Committee) that endorses and supports the "Benefits Improvement Act" for Filipino veterans.

She also served as president of the HERO For USA, a scholarship program for children of soldiers killed in battle.

Yolanda convened the highly successful "Partnering V-Socio-Economic Strategies for the 21st Century" in March 2002, which served as the forum for organizing the Filipino World Alliance for Dual Citizenship and Absentee Voting. This, she said, is a joint effort of the US Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce, Inc. (FPACC), the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) California chapter, and the Sons and Daughters of WW2 Veterans USA.

For the above advocacy, she donated her own resources to lead the global campaign in the private sector for the immediate passage of the Dual Citizenship and Absentee Voting bills in the Philippine Congress. She gathered at least 1.5 million signatures from the estimated 2.5 Filipino Americans in the US, Guam and Saipan, which significantly influenced key decision makers in the Philippine executive and legislative branches. She lobbied one-on-one with key Philippine legislators and officials to fast track the passage of the two crucial bills before the end of 2002.

She also forged strategic partnerships with key overseas Filipinos from all fronts, notably OFWnet Foundation, KAKAMPI, E-Lagda, and Migrante International.

From educator to bridge-builder, Yolanda has indeed gone a long way. She has moved on further yet, as charter president of the US Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce, Inc. (FPACC) in May 1985 during a national assembly to establish a confederation of Filipino businesses in the US at the urging of then President Fidel V. Ramos. She continues to serve a third term, with chapters in 42 cities and states all over the US, including Hawaii.

Needless to say, Yolanda has opted for dual citizenship. She was the first to apply, and was given, dual citizenship, and her son, she said, is the first dual citizen born to a dual citizen mother.

As a dual citizen, she can run for a seat in the Philippine Senate, and can even accept appointment to the Cabinet on the condition that she indicate that she will stay in the Philippines for good. But she does not have to be a senator to do good things for the country. As a private citizen, she has been helping a lot of Fil-Americans.

She is married to an American surgeon, Dr. Thomas Stern. Both of them head an NGO called One World Institute of Sir Thomas Stern and Yolanda Stern, which has been helping charitable institutions, including donating US$50-million worth of medicines to hospitals. Dr. Stern is also the author of romantic novels.

I guess it was to test her loyalty to the US that media persons asked her thoughts on whether America should get out of Iraq. She said she has always thought that no matter what one does, one must finish it. So with America. "If America can finish the mob it sought out to do in the beginning, it should stay, if not, it should get out of Iraq."

Filipinos, she said, always come back to their mother country, and she is no exception. She has always thought of the Philippines as home. Filipinos prefer to live in their own country, especially the retirees. In the US, they can stay in nursing homes, "but there's no one to hold their hands, while here, they have families to take care of them."

Actually, she said, foreigners, even diplomats, who have lived in the Philippines, like to return and live here where they can have maids, cooks and gardeners. Also, the dollars earned, from social security pensions, go a long way in the Philippines.

As to the advantages of dual citizenship, Dr. Stern said that when she lost her Philippine citizenship, she became a foreigner who could not buy land or vote, but when she became a dual citizen, she could do all that. "Instead of feeling foreign, I feel I am a Filipino."

As to the American soldiers being charged with the raping of a Filipina in Olongapo, she said, "I have always been against rape. Rape is always a crime. IF the soldiers did indeed rape the woman, they should be punished under Philippine law."

Helping Filipinos fight for their rights is a passion for Yolanda. But they have to be legal, she said. She does not encourage TNTs (tago-ng-tago). They'll be sent to jail, and their employers fined US$30,000.

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