Simula

Welcome to FilipinOnline!

As described above, this site aims to provide News, Helpful Information, Features and Entertainment For and About Filipinos in America. Currently, it is Southern California-centric, but I aim to include more national Fil Am news and features in the future.

I want to say that this place is a product of some overnight tinkering but the truth is it took me a long time to finally realize this dream.

While covering Filipino news in Southern California, I've always been struck by the wealth of material that goes unreported in our community. As the reporting assignments I get are frequently of the "if it bleeds, it leads" variety, I hungered for the days when I will get the opportunity to write about stories in our community that are truly worth caring about.

It took me a long time to break free of my fears and inhibitions about striking out on my own to finally follow through on this idea for a site that aims to help, inform and entertain my fellow kababayans.

Here we have a segment called "Ask A Kababayan" where anyone can pose a question that will be answered by a kababayan who is in a relevant field, or by someone who, due to a personal experience, just knows the answer.

This is our online version of bayanihan, one of our greatest Pinoy traits.

When I was just starting out in America back in 2000, I would have killed for a place like this where I would be able to get help from kababayans who've been there and done that. And because it seems like we have successfully infiltrated every field there is in America, I am confident that somewhere, somehow, some knowledgeable Pinoy will always be able and willing to inform a kababayan in need.

We also have Buhay America Tips. It's fun collecting these tips because I get to learn a lot in the process too.

There are lots more in store!

I was inspired to finally take the plunge to set up this long-dreamed of site when I discovered darynkagan.com, a website created by former CNN news anchor, Daryn Kagan. She calls her website a "hopeful" news site whose aim is "to show the world what's possible." Her site's credo, it seems, is just simply to help and inspire.

I hope to do the same thing, and I hope you'll join me on this trip.

Yong B. Chavez