Obama appoints 2 Fil-Ams to key government posts

Two Filipino-American rights advocates were appointed on Saturday (Manila time) by US President Barack Obama to key government posts as advisers on Asian-American issues. Civil rights advocate Rozita Villanueva-Lee and gay rights activist Hector Vargas Jr. were selected by the White House as members of the 17-person Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The commission gives inputs to the US government and tries to influence White House policy on how to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Villanueva-Lee actively campaigned for the Filipino World War II veterans’ equity bill at the US Senate, which eventually granted the 18,000 Filipino war veterans with a $198-million stimulus package. During the last US presidential elections in 2008, she led an campaign called “FilVote," which aimed to encourage Filipino-Americans in the US to register and participate in the country’s polls. Vargas, meanwhile, has been actively campaigning for the recognition of the civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) in the US. He currently serves as the executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, which claims to have 2,000 medical professionals around the world as members. The two Filipino-American appointees, along with 15 other newly-appointed officials, will be officially sworn in as members of the advisory body on Wednesday (Manila time) at the U.S. Capitol. According to latest government records, more than four million Filipinos are currently residing in the United States.—ACC/JV, GMANews.TV