It is not surprising that the almost 200,000 Filipino-Americans in San Diego County, who originate from the different regions and provinces of the Philippines, and who come from all walks of life, have formed a variety of social clubs, school organizations, professional societies, and so forth. In fact, by unofficial count, there are close to 200 different organizations that have been formed by Filipino-Americans in San Diego County.
Perhaps because of this diversity, the Council of Philippine American Organizations of San Diego County (COPAO) was formed to begin to bring the many groups together under a single "umbrella" organization. Over the years, it's governing body has metamorphosed into a unicameral Executive Council, serving as the legislative and administrative body over approximately 50 different member organizations.
COPAO was started by retired Filipinos from the US Navy, doctors, nurses, social workers and educators who came together in 1971, to organize an umbrella organization in order “to foster harmony and mutual cooperation among Filipino-American organizations and the community at large.” Other objectives of the organizers were to work together to (1) promote understanding of Filipino cultural heritage (2) protect the legitimate interests of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans (3) expand opportunities for education, health, business, employment and social services (4) advocate civil rights, equal opportunity and social justice, and to (5) build character, integrity, self esteem and a positive image of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.
In the final chapter of “Beyond the Mask”, a book about the life and times of U.S.
Navy Filipinos, Dr. Riz Oades, writes about COPAO’s challenges and accomplishments under various administrations ending with that of Jay V. Ruiz,
who was responsible for initiating many community projects, foremost of which is
the Philippine Faire and Parade, which has become an annual event to celebrate
the anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence from Spain.
The late Ernie Flores, Jr., publisher and editor-in-chief of The Filipino Press and
former historian of COPAO, wrote that in 1967, The Filipino Community Organization
of San Diego County (now known as the Philippine American Community of San
Diego County), received a few thousand dollars from the City and County to fund
anti-poverty programs for Filipinos. The president of the organization at that time
was Filemon Adrid, a realtor and retired Navy serviceman. This was the first known
government-funded project ever directed to the then growing Filipino-American
community in San Diego County.
In 1972, Filemon Adrid, with the help of a few community leaders decided to form a
separate entity to address the social service needs of the Filipinos. With the participation of a dozen or so Filipino associations, the new entity was called the “Council of Pilipino-American Organizations (COPAO). Adrid became its first Chairman.
That year a group of doctors, nurses and other community leaders organized Operation Samahan, Inc. with COPAO as its fiscal agent through the late 1980’s until funding was stopped. For a brief time, COPAO also had an Asian component program directed specifically to the needs of Chinese, Indo-Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Pacific Islander groups such as Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, etc. This component later separated from COPAO to form what is now known as the Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC).
Through the 70’s and 80’s COPAO operated with funding coming from the
city, county, and the United Way. At one time funds were also coursed through the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC Project), a basically Latino-oriented program in the South Bay area.
Through the years, COPAO had been headed by a succession of
Chairpersons (see list below).In 1992, COPAO’s ByLaws were amended and a House of Delegates was organized to serve as the legislative arm of COPAO. The Speakers of the House of Delegates were Roy Bautista (1993-1994), Zenaida Mascardo Ravelo (1995-1996), Oscar Sa. Garcia (1997-1998) and Greg Alabado (1999-2000).
In 2000, the COPAO ByLaws were again amended, leading to several
significant changes in the structure of COPAO. Over the years, it's governing
body has metamorphosed into a unicameral Executive Council, serving as
the legislative and administrative body over about 50 different member organizations.
So, in 2000, the House of Delegates was abolished, a Board of Trustees was created, and the title of Chairman was changed to “President”. The first member to hold the title of COPAO President was Oscar Sa. Garcia. Click here or on "Members" in the Navigation Bar on the left margin to view the list of Member Organizations.
In 1997, Aurora Cudal, then Chairperson of COPAO, approached Joel San Juan, Executive Director of the Operation Samahan Health Clinic and appealed to him to provide temporary office space for COPAO. The support extended by Operation Samahan Health Clinic and the successful fundraisers and popularity contests held in connection with the Philippine Faire during the Philippine Centennial Celebration, led to the accumulation of funds. This encouraged the Cudal, Oscar Sa. Garcia (Speaker of the House of Delegates) and Marc De Guzman (Chair of the Finance Committee and the Building Committee), to pursue the purchase of a real estate property to house a permanent office for COPAO. A four bedroom house with a separate two door garage located at 832 E Avenue, National City, California, was selected. The owners, Amado and Julie Quintanilla, agreed to sell the building to COPAO for $145,000, minus $10,000, which they generously donated to the organization.
In October 1998, to augment its own funds, COPAO applied for a mortgage loan from Wells Fargo Bank. This was facilitated by an unexpected no-interest loan of $25,000 from Mrs. Remy Broas, which completed the required down payment. The deal to purchase the building from the Quintanillas was completed on April 9, 1999. The Building Committee, then chaired by Oscar Sa. Garcia, mobilized friends and volunteers to transform the garage into a usable office and meeting place, now called the COPAO Center.
In April 2004, COPAO officers presented a check for $67,000 to Well Fargo Bank, thereby living up to its commitment to pay for the building in full by 2004. With that final payment, COPAO became debt free! The building itself has already tripled in value!
Since its inception in 1972, the Council of Philippine American Organizations of San Diego County, Inc. has accomplished much. Its information programs and a variety of services have provided countless men and women referral and counseling on matters pertaining to their health problems, access to social services, immigration and naturalization, training and job placement and legal problems. It has also been an advocate on issues affecting ethnic minorities and has joined hands with other agencies in its drive for political empowerment. COPAO has collaborated with various agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service to implement the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program; the Community Labor Service to help in the job placement of unemployed or underemployed low income individuals; and the National Asian and Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) to involve the community, particularly Filipino-Americans in voters registration and in promoting language access to election materials.
COPAO has been acknowledged on several occasions as the incubator of Operation Samahan Health Clinic, Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC), Samahan Dance Company, Samahan Senior Nutrition Center and AB Samahan. These agencies started as community projects under the aegis of COPAO and then moved on to become independent and progressive non-profit organizations.
Every administration of COPAO has exerted its best to do what is good for the Filipino-American community. But there is still much to be done. The current administration under the leadership of Rita Buencamino Andrews was elected into office in December 2004, under newly amended Bylaws. It looks forward to a better, stronger and more effective COPAO, committed to pursuing the objectives upon which it was founded. While there have been distractions along the way, COPAO has managed to stay on track. More organizations are joining its ranks and participating in its activities. The Philippine Faire 2005, an annual event to celebrate the anniversary of Philippine Independence and showcase Filipino culture and talent, last took place on June 11 and 12, 2005. Filipino-Americans and other members of the San Diego community joined the Grand Parade on June 11, the Tribute to Veterans on June 12, and enjoyed the dances, songs, cultural displays, Filipino food, and other expressions of our vitality as a people.
We are proud of our past as an organization, and, with the help of all Filipino-Americans in San Diego County, we are hopeful that our future will be even brighter. Mabuhay!
