National Federation of Filipino American Associations

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 23, 2009:

Dear NaFFAA Region 8 All-Star Volunteer Team:

This past weekend was a tribute to our community! For those who did not get a chance to make it out to the Counselor Training and Foreclosure Clinic over the weekend, I wanted to report how greatly successful the training and Clinic was.

Many thanks to our team of Volunteers whose “willing to help attitudes”, effortlessly met the needs of our affected homeowners. Everyone performed at such a high level and the clinic attendees were very appreciative and walked away much more informed of their options. Homeowners couldn’t believe that they were able to get “free” legal advice from the 3 Volunteer Attorneys, Jason Buckingham, Donna Echiverri and Rodel Rodis. I was told by Baylan Megino, who was one of many volunteers who manned the Registration area, that, initially, some of the homeowners were skeptical of the “free” clinic and were almost expecting to be charged for something or another at registration.

A special thanks to Betsy Zoebel and Maritess Lagandaon (City of Daly City), who helped provide the venues for the two events and whose tireless efforts to ensure we had what we needed was very instrumental to our success.

A shout-out to Hazel Valera whose Credit Workshop was as enlightening as it was invaluable. Her suggestions and her expert understanding of Credit helped inform homeowners just how to move forward from this catastrophic point in their lives.

Of course many, many thanks to Faith Bautista, Lynn McLaughlin, Daughlet Ordinario, Eleza Nooris and Louie Guererro of Mabuhay Alliance. Faith and Mabuhay continue to pave the way to make it easier for all us. Thanks for all your leadership on empowering our Filipino Community.

None of this would have happened had it not been for the Bayanihan Spirit of the 45+ volunteers who braved the elements and sacrificed time from their families to be with so many who needed a hand. Your desire to volunteer and help those in trouble are a testament to you. Thanks for your inspiring dedication and tremendous example to those in need.

Words cannot convey our gratitude for your contribution. We wanted to thank you with this note as our personal round of applause. The credit for our good deeds firmly rests with our dedicated volunteers. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with all of you.

Next stop, San Jose! Date to be determined…stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Jose A. Pecho, Chair
Region 8, Northern California
NaFFAA

Capitalizing on the success of our first Foreclosure Prevention Clinic held in Vallejo on December 13, 2008, NaFFAA Region 8 in cooperation with the Mabuhay Alliance, the city of Daly City and the Community Child Care Council of Santa Clara County, invites you to a “Foreclosure Prevention Clinic” to be held on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at the Doelger Community Center in Daly City.

Come to the Clinic if you are experiencing difficulties making your monthly mortgage payments. Has your interest rate changed? Has your home value decreased? Do you have questions about foreclosure or bankruptcy? Do you await foreclosure or eviction notices? Do you have questions about how non-payments can affect your credit rating? What is a short sale?

You can answer all these questions by attending this foreclosure prevention clinic. Housing counselors, mortgage counselors and volunteer attorneys can give you valuable information to assist you to make needed decisions.

Please help us spread the word by getting this invitation to as many homeowners as possible. Loss mitigation Representatives from several banks will be present including: Countrywide Home Loans, Bank of America, Citi Mortgage, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase Washington Mutual, HSBC, Indymac Federal Bank, Downey Savings and EMC Mortgage.

Sincerely,

Jose A. Pecho, Chair
Region 8, Northern California
NaFFAA

Please click on the title below (in blue ink above the invitation) so you can share this invitation to your family and friends (such as facebook, twitter, or your other bookmarks), send the PDF file directly to your e-mail distribution list, add to your favorites, embed the code to your website or blog, download the PDF file, and other options at Scribd.com.

02222009 - Daly City Foreclosure Prevention Clinic at Doelger Community Center

January 15, 2009 is a very significant date for minority populations in the United States. It is the birthday of one of the most revered moral leaders in the United States, Martin Luther King (he was born on January 15, 1929). Listen to Martin Luther King’s compelling speech, “I Have A Dream.”

January 15, 2009 is also a significant date for many of us as we gather at the lobby of the Bank of America building at 11:30am, 555 California Street, San Francisco, CA. We consider this “meeting of common and shared advocacies” our way of honoring what Martin Luther King continues to stand for.

January 15th at 11:30 am

The seven major banks we will be protesting have received bailouts in excess of $150 billion. But no one, including the government, knows what they are doing with the bailouts. Our protest will begin at 11:30am in the lobby of the Bank of America Building at 555 California Street. We are scheduling meetings with senior management from the B of A, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, US Bancorp, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. At approximately 1:00pm we will march from our last bank meeting to the San Francisco Federal Reserve for a meeting with the senior management at the Federal Reserve Bank.

Our message on Martin Luther King’s actual birth date is intended to be a message to the new Obama administration and congress as it begins drawing up new legislation. Our issues will include preventing foreclosures, major loan modifications, support for small businesses under the Obama economic stimulus plan, excessive executive compensation, full transparency, and philanthropy to the underserved.

With your help, this could be the most fascinating, and certainly most productive “walking tour” of San Francisco for the year 2009.

[“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ” - MLK ]

Please contact

Preeti Vissa
preetiv@greenlining.org
(510) 926-4022

or

Jose Pecho, NaFFAA, Region 8
jp8cho@aol.com
(415) 240-4906

UPDATE:

From Baylan Megino

Congratulations to NaFFAA on their participation in the Bailout protest which made the SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/16/BUSF15B9KR.DTL.

Since this clinic was confidential in nature, we will not be publishing any photos.

PRESS RELEASE

Vallejo, CA – Responding to the urgent cry for help of homeowners threatened with the loss of their homes, Mabuhay Alliance and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), two state and nationwide community organizations conducted the first foreclosure prevention clinic in Solano County last December 13, 2008. 

The principal sponsor of the clinic was JP Morgan Chase, which after meeting with Mabuhay Alliance, NaFFAA, and other community groups, recently developed one of the nation’s most far reaching foreclosure prevention and loan modification programs. JP Morgan has just acquired Washington Mutual.

The clinic was held at the Solano Community College (Vallejo Center) and was attended by more than 250 homeowners facing foreclosure. Also attending the clinic and endorsing it were several government officials, including Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis and Suisun Mayor Pete Sanchez.

Mayor Davis, impressed with the purpose and the turnout, requested that Mabuhay Alliance and NaFFAA coordinate another clinic soon after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. Both organizations will meet with the mayor next month to plan the clinic. It is expected that all the major banks and officials of the new Obama administration will observe the next clinic.

Mabuhay Alliance and NaFFAA predicted that if President-elect Obama follows some of the suggestions developed at the clinic, the vast majority of homeowners facing foreclosure this Christmas will have a more prosperous and secure Christmas in 2009 in their own homes. Some of the suggestions,  which JP Morgan Chase may follow or advocate are:

* A foreclosure moratorium until loans are fully and adequately modified in accordance with the FDIC/IndyMac proposal;

* Hedge fund investor pools that hold up to 80% of mortgages should be compelled to follow the JP Morgan/IndyMac approach of lowering interest rates, forgiving principal, and ensuring that no more than 31% of income should be allocated to mortgage related payments;

* Support the US Treasury’s proposal to create new homeownership opportunities free from predatory lenders. The Treasury suggestion which Mabuhay Alliance and NaFFAA fully support is to create government guaranteed 30 year fixed rate mortgages at 4.5%;

* Ensure that moderate-income homeowners are treated like  wealthy homeowners under the tax system. The method suggested is to guarantee a $5,000 a year tax credit for every homeowner.

Mabuhay Alliance and NaFFAA, along with the Greenlining Institute, plan to meet with the new Obama administration officials and the major banks in February to ensure that the goal of seeing “every family in its own home next Christmas” is achieved.

Other corporations and agencies that attended the clinic were Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, IndyMac, Washington Mutual, United Way and the FDIC. James Buckingham a real estate attorney in Benicia, CA volunteered to provide free legal advice for distressed owners at the clinic. He noted he would further provide his services on a sliding scale for homeowners of moderate means. 

DOCUMENTATION

The involvement of NaFFAA in the City of Vallejo’s Foreclosure Prevention Clinic started with an agreement among Greg Macabenta, NaFFAA National Chair, Faith Bautista, Mabuhay Alliance’s Executive Director, and Robert Gnaizda, General Counsel and Policy Director (as well as co-founder) for the Greenlining Institute to help beleaguered homeowners in Northern California. Since the City of Vallejo was the first American city to declare the “housing foreclosure crisis, supporting local, state, and federal efforts to address the crisis and urging lending institutions and loan servicers to take certain remedial actions,” Mabuhay Alliance’s first foreclosure prevention clinic in collaboration with NaFFAA Region 8 and United Way Bay Area was also held in the City of Vallejo last December 13, 2008.

Local volunteer counselors, recruited by NaFFAA, were trained by team members of Mabuhay Alliance last November 17-18, 2008. There were many lessons learned during this first collaboration which are expected to benefit the future NaFFAA-collaborated workshops in the 12 regions. The roll-out of other foreclosure prevention clinics nationwide will start in 2009.

NaFFAA Region 8 has also acquired the resolutions from Solano County and the City of Vallejo as well as the statement from local Filipino American community leaders in Solano County regarding how they took action on the housing foreclosure crisis. The Filipino American community in Solano County, led by community leaders such as Reverend Doctor Tony Ubalde, Francis Neri, Lynn Mamaril, and Eloise Escano Scott (who was instrumental in gathering over 600 signatures) were tenacious in getting their local government officials to address the crisis and declare a moratorium. Other NaFFAA regions who haven’t started working at the local legislative level regarding obtaining such resolutions will find these documents helpful.

FLIER

12132008 Flier for Today’s Foreclosure Clinic

(more…)

Please read the following exchange:

Question from Rudy Asercion, NaFFAA City/County Chair for San Francisco: Edison is a Southern California gas and electricity provider. Can you tell us where to find the information that PG&E, the San Francisco-based energy provider is or will be seeking a similar rate increase?

Answer from Sam Kang, community organizer and attorney for the Greenlining Institute: Approximately every three years the major utilities, including PG&E, ask for what is called a general rate increase on their services. PG&E last initiated a request for a general rate increase in 2006. Hence, PG&E will be gearing up soon for their next general rate increase. So in the case of PG&E, this protest will serve as a preemptive message that indiscriminate rate increases during a recession, even in the intermediate future, will be met with resistance.

Dear Santa: We, Californians, have been good even though it’s been a very difficult year.

Please tell the Governor to:

* Stop the CPUC from allowing $5,000,000,000 utility rate increases
* Help us save our homes
* Block further increases on our energy bills during a recession with record high unemployment

* Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008
* Location: 505 Van Ness Ave. (near Golden Gate St., near City Hall) San Francisco, CA

SCHEDULE:

* 8:30 am - Assembly outside the building
* 9:00am - Meeting with Mike Peevey, President of the California Public Utilities Commission
* 9:20am – Go to Auditorium for the hearing with the five CPUC Commissioners
* 9:30am – Testimonies begin; ½ hour only
* 10:00am, approximately – Press Conference outside the building

Contacts: Faith Bautista, Mabuhay Alliance - (858) 586-7382; bautistafaith@yahoo.com
Samuel Kang, Greelining Institute – (510) 926.4004; samuelk@greenlining.org
Jose Pecho, NaFFAA – (415) 240-4906; jp8cho@aol.com

12182008 - Community Protest at CA PUC, San Francisco, CA