MARCH 27 has been delegated as the Community Call to Action Day by a coalition of Filipino-American groups, who have been advocating for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the Philippines since November 2013, after the extensive devastation brought to the country by Typhoon Haiyan.
The designation of TPS for the Philippines will benefit hundreds of thousands of out-of-status Filipinos in the United States, according to a press release from US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG).
In a latest development, a report from ABS-CBN North American Bureau revealed that an email was sent to Balitang America by US State Dept. spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala, who said that Secretary of State John Kerry has already communicated his views regarding the TPS request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
However, “we are unable to provide details on the correspondence between Secretary Kerry and the Department of Homeland Security in this matter,” Jhunjhunwala said.
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) spokesman Jon Melegrito is encouraging all kababayans in the US to actively participate in this call to action.
“We must not let up now. We need to continue to lobby the US government until TPS is approved for the Philippines,” he said.
Filipinos in the US (regardless of immigration status) are asked to call the US State Dept. DHS and the White House Comment Lines on March 27.
‘For the sake of our mother country, we urge all Filipinos in the US to save the date and make the time to call the State Department, DHS and the White House on March 27,’ said USP4GG National Chair and Community Leader Loida Nicolas-Lewis.
Filipinos are known for banking on strength in numbers. We’ve done it for American Idol votes. We’ve done it for other leisurely purposes.
Now is the time to use our full force, as Filipinos, for a sublime cause.
Call the US State Department at (202) 647-6575. Press: 4 for operator, then ask for comment line. After message press # and then 2 to make priority and then # to send. Leave this message: “Temporary Protected Status for the Philippines must be designated. I urge Secretary of State John Kerry to recommend to the Department of Homeland Security that TPS be designated for the Philippines. My name is (say name) from (say city and state).”
(AJPress)

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