PHILIPPINES: PROGRESSIVE FILIPINO YOUTH END YEAR WITH CULTURAL EVENT AND CAMPAIGN LAUNCH FOR IMMIGRANT FILIPINA YOUTH RESTAURANT WORKER

New York City―Last Friday, December 14, Filipino youth organization
Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Linking the Children of the Motherland)
held the cultural event MAGDIWANG to celebrate the organization’s 3rd
anniversary and its victories of 2007, and to launch an unpaid wages
campaign for Filipina youth worker Adriane Padilla.

Adriane, a 23-year old Filipina immigrant, is seeking compensation
from her former employers, Santiago Manlapaz and Lilia Reyes, owners
of the restaurant and bar formerly known as Barrio Fiesta in Woodside,
Queens. Throughout her employment, Manlapaz and Reyes failed to pay
Adriane minimum wage, overtime compensation, and additional spread of
hours pay. They also engaged in tip stealing and withheld her wage for
approximately eight months, threatening to terminate her when she
complained.

Manlapaz also created and perpetuated a hostile work environment by
regularly making explicit and lewd comments about the bodies, sex
lives and personal relationships of Adriane and the other female
waitresses.

Adriane, with the support of Ugnayan and allied organizations, is
demanding from her former employers her unpaid wages, a formal
apology, and respect for the rights and dignity of all workers.

“Hopefully this campaign will help other young people to stand up and
not be scared,” said Adriane. “I know other youth are experiencing
what I did. And I hope other Filipino restaurant owners will not do
the same thing as Sonny [Manlapaz].”

Adriane’s speech was one of the highlights of MAGDIWANG which was
attended by about 100 youth, supporters and allies. The event had an
all-Filipino youth line-up of poets and musicians who shared their
experiences using various creative means such as spoken word, hiphop
and acoustic rock. It also featured an immigrant youth testimony by
Aby Pinon, as well as performances by YanYon, Ugnayan’s all-female
band; musician Myke Christian; poets Marvin Kwong and Feliza Mirasol;
and hip hop acts New York’s Finest Pinoys (NYFP) and ML.

There were also speeches and letters of solidarity from allied
organizations CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, DAMAYAN Migrant
Workers Association, Kabataang maka-Bayan (Pro-People Youth, USA), and
Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines. Ugnayan
honored these and other allies and supporters with certificates of
appreciation.