Fil-Am Friendship marker unveiled in Glendale, California

Glendale Mayor Paula Devine and Philippine Consul General Edgar Badajos unveil the Filipino American Friendship Monument sponsored by the Filipino American Business Association of Glendale. SCREENSHOT

Glendale, California unveiled the Filipino American Friendship Monument earlier this month to honor the Filipino community’s contributions to the city.

The 6-foot-tall monument pays tribute to Filipino American Business Association of Glendale’s history and past presidents and highlights its friendship ties to the city. The nonprofit FABAG is dedicated to empowering Filipino Americans with outreach programs and community service projects.

The marker, situated outside the Adult Recreation Center in downtown Glendale, was two years in the making.

“This will symbolize the dedication of this Filipino community to bring a project like this together,” Glendale Mayor Paula Devine said. “To stay together for 32 years, that in itself is an accomplishment.”

“My heart is filled with gratitude to the city officials of Glendale, the business leaders in Glendale, the Filipino community in Glendale, the American mainstream, for the support you have given this project,” Edgar Badajos, the Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles, said. “Thanks to you, we now have a beautiful Filipino American monument.”

“It’s a Pinoy pride for us. We are really very happy and this is friendship, gratitude, commemoration, tribute… Name it. We have it in this monument,” FABAG board member Edith Fuentes said.

Glendale is home to about 15,000 Filipinos, making up over 7% of its total population of 200,000 and comprising the city’s largest Asian minority group. The City Council named October Filipino American History Month in 2013.

Earlier this month, the Historic Filipinotown Gateway, officially named “Talang Gabay: Our Guiding Star,” was installed in Los Angeles on April 2. The gateway honors the Filipino American community and pays tribute to Filipino frontline health care workers.