Filipinos harness political power

Before a crowd of 400 supporters on an unusually cloudy Saturday afternoon, Reynaldo Umlas announced that he will be running for city councillor under the Vision Vancouver banner at the party’s upcoming nomination meeting Sept. 20. This will mark the first time a Filipino-Canadian will be running for public office in Vancouver.

"For many years, we have been involved in our own silent way," Umlas, 61, told the Post, "but never on this magnitude. Political candidates are starting to realize the power of the Filipino community. "

Indeed, the Filipino community is emerging as a new force in B.C. politics. With a population of approximately 70,000, B.C.’s Filipino community is the third largest ethnic group in the region after the Chinese and South Asian communities.

Having served for over a decade as a staff representative for the Hospital Employees Union, which represents nearly 7,000 health care workers in the province, many of them Filipinos, Umlas is ready to tap into his community’s bubbling political power.

"The Filipino community has been urging me to run for a very long time and now that I am retired, I am elevating my public commitment to serve my community as well as the mainstream," he said. "I will be committed to affordable housing, homelessness and an effective public transit system."

As the November elections steadily approach, Vision Vancouver has been making a solid effort to extend its hand to the Filipino community. According to many in the community, it’s no secret that the "Filipino vote" helped the party’s mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson win the nomination.

Last week, on the eve of his resignation from provincial politics, Robertson told the Post, "It’s great to see this new interest and energy and sense that the Filipino community is coming together to exercise its political voice cohesively."

Boni Barcia, a Provincial Executive with the B.C. Hospital Employees’ Union and an active community leader, is delighted to see change on the horizon.

"No Filipino-Canadian yet — of any stripe — has been elected at the municipal, provincial, or federal level here in B.C.," he said. "The people are getting very excited."

Umlas, who is originally from Manila, moved to Vancouver in 1972. Speaking modestly, he said he is well positioned to take the ‘first elected Filipino-Canadian’ title. His experience as a ministerial assistant for former premier Glen Clark and his career in the health sector proves his political prowess and ability to maneuver within the community, he said.

"I want to carry on and keep giving back to the community and share with them what I have experienced in terms of my experience, my personal values and my identity," he said. "All of this will help me represent them."