[applause] >> filipinos love a great party. in northern california, one organization proves this year in and year out by celebrating our heritage and culture. this year, it broke records, making it the largest festival in the region.

ladies gentlemen, the filipino american art exposition. >> [inaudible] and the best of philippine cuisine with more than 100,000 filipino americans living in the bay area alone, it is no surprise that the largest philippine a festival in northern california takes place right here in san francisco. the celebration features dance, art, and a cut off so that visitors can taste, hear, smell, and see filipino culture up close. this year, a tucson record- breaking attendance with over 70,000 patrons and spectators of the festival, making it our signature community tradition. the san francisco bay area filipino community salutes the legacy of celebrating filipino culture and heritage.

>> representing the filipino american arts exposition and festival. [applause] [applause]

>> we would also like to acknowledge the founder -- not the founder, but the current president, and also commissioner of entertainment for san francisco, who could not join us tonight, but who has been an instrument of the success. [applause] through the years, the filipino american community has become not just a member but, more importantly, a partner to the city of san francisco, fostering ties with a group of ambassadors who served as a bridge of people. tonight, we are 50 years of the san francisco manila sister cities. there's a bridge that connects the thrill of the orient to the

city by the bay. it is a bridge of ambassadors, one made of people whose roots and hearts and the pacific ocean. in april 1961, the city of seven cisco formally and stated a committee under the office of the mayor to become the preeminent cultural and economic [inaudible] between san francisco and manila, developing a system that promote closer ties between the cities. this year, the san francisco manila sister city committee represents -- celebrates its 50 year, marking five decades of service to our people. the san francisco bay area filipino american community salutes this milestone, a legacy of goodwill and true filipino american pride. >> representing the san francisco manila sister city committee, are defective chairman -- our de facto

chairman. [applause] >> if i may, i'd like to call up some very key members of the committee. i cannot call all 100-plus people up here, but some very key members. first filipino elected in san francisco, who has been with the sister city committee from day one, and partners in making sure that the cultural links have to do with education. nancy and dan harrington, please join us here. they have sent 13 million books to impoverished children over the years. we thank you all for this honor. we have enjoyed tremendously the ability to link with the

philippines. we have generated thousands of jobs, both in the philippines and in san francisco. we have donated thousands of dollars to various events, such as the cleanup of the river, the symphony of the philippine cultural center, and the list goes on and on. we would not have been able to do that without being partners with the philippine consulate general. [applause] and in the five trade and cultural missions led in 1994 and 1998, 2005, 2006, 2010, one of the key posts for our entire committee and all of the various leaders, the people that head of the business circles, the political circles has always been the filipino channel, and

we thank you. the most wonderful addition, the fresh blood that is going to come in and lead the sister city committee from this point on, as represented by the very beautiful and multi talented. [applause] thank you all. >> before we have them leave the stage, i want to take this opportunity. linda and dennis have given so much heart and soul to the manila sister city. on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, we love you so much. we are broken hearted that you have stepped down, but we know that your leadership will not go away because this is where your heart is. on behalf of all of us, we will miss you terribly.

but as they say, you do not retire, you rewire. that means you will be connecting back to so many of us and continuing your fabulous work, and we cannot thank you enough for so many years. for any of you who have not had the opportunity to go on a delegation, it is the most organized, amazing experience you will ever have, and behind every strong man, there's an amazing woman in linda, so thank you for everything that you do. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, once again, let's give a warm round of applause to all our honorees tonight. [applause] making a difference in the community is about bold courage and hopeful optimism. >> that is right. more and more, the filipino american community continues to build a pipeline with emerging leaders of the next generation,

making sure that all that energy, wisdom, and vigorous spirit is passed on. tonight, we would like to thank all of our partners in the community. thank you so much to all of our wonderful restaurants tonight. [applause] and we have the fabulous mango ice cream from heavenly ice cream. >> wow. thank you. >> we would also like to thank the rest of our partners, our designers, our fashion show choreographers -- don't you love them?

my best new discovery. bradford, you are doing this again next year, wherever you are. a big thanks to all of our 16 models, and our appreciation always to the philippine consulate of san francisco and consul general. >> so, i think we want to introduce our performer for tonight. >> wonderful. i cannot wait. >> please join us in welcoming you to celebrity sensation and recording artist, ms. michelle martinez. >> he can stay. good evening, everybody. how are you guys doing tonight? good? it is an honor to be here tonight. i just want to sing a couple of

songs for you tonight. there we go. ♪ honey, honey i can see the stars all the way from here see the glow of the windowpane i can see the sun whenever you are near every time you touch me, i just melt away everybody asks me why i am is smiling but i know nothing is perfect [inaudible] baby, it is you you are the ones i love you are the one i need you are the only one i see

, on, baby, it is you come on, baby you put my love on top , on, baby talk, talk, talk -- top, top, top honey, honey i can feel the wind your lips taste like a night of champagne as i kiss you again and again and again and again everybody asks me why i am is smiling out from year to year but i know

nothing is perfect but it's worth it after fighting through my fears and finally you put me first baby it is you you are the one i love you are the one i need you are the only one of ic , on, baby -- come on, baby you put my love on top come on, baby you put my love on top you put my love on top come on, baby baby, it is you you are the one i love you are the one i need

you are the only one i see come on, baby, it's you you are the one who gives your all your the one i can always call when i need you make everything stop baby, you are the one that i love you are the one that i need only one ic come on, baby, it is you you are the one that gives you all the one i can always call finally, you put my love on top ♪ [applause] thank you. thank you guys so much for having me tonight. i have an album out, and i am on youtube. and my channel. i am on the internet. please check me out on my website. i have some albums and posters out there for sale as well.

this next song i wanted to do -- can i have my water? this next song, i just wanted to bring it back to my roots, being a filipino. i am not very good in my tagalog, but i wanted to sing this song for you guys tonight. thank you. excuse me if i'd love any words. here we go. -- excuse me if i flub any words. here we go. this one is dedicated to you guys. ♪

[singing in tagalog]

♪ thank you guys so much. had a great evening. thank you. >> one more time. great job. thank you so much. amazing. amazing. ok, before anything else, we want to thank our sponsors. pixel creations. thank you so much for being part of tonight's event. we just want to tell everyone to please just continue joining -- enjoying the food. i just want to say it was an honor and pleasure hosting tonight's event with you. thank you for having me. >> likewise, and until next time --

[speaking in foreign language] [applause]

>> i want to introduce to you and adopted filipino woman, the supervisor district 10, maria cohen. when al and kim got married, maliagood evening, and welcome. we have many things to celebrate. first, i wanted to acknowledge all the women who helped make this event happened. thank you so much. [applause] absolutely. we need to continue to strengthen the philippine the women's network, not just here in san francisco, but all across the country. this network is strong and robust. i am honored to be here as a fellow sister with you in the struggle. i have a very simple story. [inaudible] she is part of the philippine

the women's network, and i owe her my life and for the success of my career. she was my consultant last year when i was campaigning. and when no one else would work with me. [applause] [cheers and applause] that is right. this woman is definitely a strong ally, and i over everything could i am so happy that you're honoring and recognizing her for her achievements. trust me, it is difficult being in politics, not only as a woman but as a woman of color. i am so happy to be here today. thank you. [applause] i also want to acknowledge tita and want to thank her for her hard work and leadership. she has been a shining example and a role model for me as a

young women growing up here in san francisco. that is it for my remarks to the i am so happy to see so many of you. there is my brother al. it is true story. a long time ago, back in 2003 -- 2004, it was the assistant for the near gavin newsom, and i volunteered to become deputized to officially over same-sex marriages. it was not only until -- and i presided over al's union and the mayor's office. it was not until 2009 when i was running that i sat down and met with many of the women of the filipino women's network. i was invited to come, and i think we wait -- we went to -- [unintelligible] not in district 10, but i plug it anyway. [laughter] it is in district 6, but it is

read on the border. close enough. absolutely. i was able to bless the union, and i am so happy that you guys are still growing together and strong and in love. [applause] it is an incredible honor to be here amongst so many women, so many beautiful leaders. mayormerilee, i just want to say thank you. she has been my sister for years. before we knew each other, she worked on the merits network. we need to get more women on boards and commissions, as well as elected leaders. because when we have zero women at the table, that is one change starts to happen. [cheers and applause] i also want to acknowledge all the commissioners in the room today. thank you for all of your service. thank you very much, everyone. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you, malia. first of all, i want to thank susie and her whole family who are here. you know, she is going to be feeding you later. maybe some of you have already started eating. andron is our brother and will play for us later. ithey have some gorgeous young men over there serving us and drinks with vodka. so if i am is sort of, you know, being happy, it is because of that. most of all, i just want to recognize our volunteers of the fwn to have been working behind the scenes. first of all, our fellow. many of the awardees have seen her name. leia, come on up here.

there she is. as you know, she is with korn ferry international, which is the primo executive search firm kidder she works for them. she's spending monday with us at fwn, because she does not really want to be a consecutive search consultant. i got invited to an event at korn ferry international, at a lot of the ceo's were there. i was very honored. thank you for staying up all night, e-mail and everyone. for those of you who submitted your profiles and photographs, thank you very much. for those of you who were late, thank you very much. [laughter] that you made her life maybe a little less easier by trying to follow up with all of you. but you're so patient. >> good thing the bios were very

inspiring, so it is worth it. >> if you want to know anything about the 100 this year, she's the person to talk to. she is like a walking wikipedia. then i want to introduce al perez. he is a board member. but the magazine would not have happened without al. thank you so much. i stayed at his house for a few days as we were trying to get the magazine out and getting all of the photographs. thank you so much. and you know he is the commissioner with the san francisco entertainment commission. he is living a very busy life. so i have the philippine consulate staff. where are you?

they make our lives easier by helping us out with all the registrations and the packets. the little bags that you got. wasn't it great? filipino women, hey. there is somebody very important to the filipino community who is here tonight. as you know, as many of you know, domestic -- we have the filipina women's network that has a domestic violence campaign. it started in the 1980's when a filipino woman was murdered in front of her two children by her boyfriend. that really galvanized the community, because her alleged murderer at that time escaped to mexico. and we had a quest to make sure that justice was served. her mother, who was not here tonight, really championed the cause and got the filipina women's network involved.

the district attorney's office has held the filipina women's network, and as a community, and i think it is fought -- signed an mou with the philippine consulate. i want to introduce the district attorney of san francisco who has been interest -- instrumental in helping the community reduce crime against women. george, the district attorney, yay. [cheers and applause] >> quickly, it is an honor being here today and sharing this moment. i have seen some many influential members of this community and women of substance in recognized as part of the filipino community but i am honored to be here today. this week, we signed a historical agreement between my office and the philippine council. and the purpose of the agreement is to get