PAFCOM publishes 35-year commemorative book
By Dr. Marivir R. Montebon
New York - The Philippine American Friendship Community (PAFCOM) 35-year commemorative book is out this January 2026 after two years of work. Published by PAFCOM, book is a collaborative effort of journalists Cristina DC Pastor and Marivir Montebon, some PAFCOM officials, visual artist Ness Bantog, and former Board president Dr. Connie Uy as editor-in-chief.
The commemorative book covers the period 1990 until 2025. To get a copy, reach out to pafcomnj@gmail.com.
The PAFCOM 35-year commemorative book
Dr. Connie Uy (middle) with journalists Dr. Marivir Montebon and Cristina DC Pastor (right).
Excerpts of its history:
The PAFCOM Story – How it all began
(1990-2025)
By Marivir R. Montebon
A high point in the 35-year history of PAFCOM was its 2021 Philippine Presidential Award ‘Banaag’ (dawn in Filipino) where its community service and cultural promotion of the diasporic Filipinos in the East Coast has finally been acknowledged in the Philippines.
The Banaag award was received by Dr. Constancia Uy, Dr. Roxanne Cajigas, and Ms. Corazon Reyes on June 29, 2022, in a sparkling reception at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.
Three years prior to receiving this award, PAFCOM bravely cared for the communities in New Jersey during the trying years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through the Filipino bayanihan spirit that naturally comes on difficult times, PAFCOM supported frontliners in some of New Jersey’s hospitals during the lockdown. In partnership with Jersey City’s Filipino American-owned restaurants and local businesses, PAFCOM leaders and volunteers provided and delivered 80 meals and care packages every week for over eight weeks to the frontliners at Christ Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center.
Reeling from the pandemic, PAFCOM’s prestigious Presidential Award for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas was an affirmation of its enduring leadership, through ups and downs, since its birth in 1990.
The growth of Filipino families and the birth of PAFCOM in NJ
The East Coast has seen the vigorous influx of Filipinos migrating from the Philippines since the 1960s. New Jersey became an attractive second home to most Filipinos, compared to New York, because of its affordability and the huge spatial allowance it gave for growing families.
A visionary leader, writer, and entrepreneur, Hipolito Gajilan Jr. (1940-2020) saw the necessity of organizing a Filipino festivity in Jersey City to commemorate the Filipino American Friendship Day which is celebrated every 4th of July.
Gajilan’s idea was to have a parallel festival in New Jersey to that of Manhattan’s commemoration of the June 12 Philippine Independence Day which started in 1972. Hatched perhaps in one of those basketball games he organized in his neighborhood in Jersey City, Gajilan’s pet project became to be known as the Filipino American Friendship Committee, Inc. (PAFCOM).
PAFCOM led the first Filipino parade and festival in 1990 at the Lincoln Park in Jersey City. Journalist Fiorello Salvo, Gajilan’s friend, remembered as being the first to host the pioneering event which was warmly welcomed by Filipinos.
It was the beginning of an upbeat and colorful cultural tradition in New Jersey, home to the greatest number of Filipinos in the East Coast.
Over the years, PAFCOM became a household word - whose parade and festivals were being enthusiastically awaited every summer, other than promoting goodwill and visibility in the community. #
