Fil-Am group in California hits racist slur

LOS ANGELES, California – A Filipino-American group has decried the racist tirade against a Fil-Am family in Daly City.

The incident went viral on social media.

The posted video shows an old woman taunting a Fil-American family at a grocery store.

“Filipino immigrants play a vital role in building the economy of the United States by providing healthcare and education through employed Filipino doctors, nurses, and teachers,” said Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) in Los Angeles.

“In fact, most Filipinos take jobs that Americans cannot fill such as caregiving and other forms of domestic work. By taking care of the elderly or the children, the Americans are able to go out and have jobs of their own,” Versoza stressed in a statement sent to Manila Bulletin.

In the video, the old woman rants at the Veladera: “You don’t want me to talk to Philippine?”

“Come on, come on, come on! Look at all the groceries they buy. Steal our food, steal our money, our jobs.”

“So racist. Oh my God,” Jenny Veladera is heard saying.

“We got a family to feed,” Jenny’s husband adds.

But the old woman shoots back: “So what? Go back to your country.” “This is our country!” Jenny points out. “You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying! Just how you got here,” the old woman responds.

Citing data from the US Census Bureau, the Pew Research Center fact sheet indicated that there were about 3.9 million people with Filipino descent in America as of 2015.