06 October 2016 — Officers and members of the Philippine Language, Arts and Culture (PILAC) and the Council on Trade and Investments for Filipino Americans (COTIFA) paid a courtesy call on Consul General Adelio Angelito S. Cruz at the Philippine Consulate General on September 28.

The group was led by Ms. Emily Manansala Roberts, CEO/CFO/Founder of PILAC and concurrently an officer of COTIFA. PILAC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the vision of becoming the leading institution for the promotion and development of a strong advocacy for Philippine language, arts and culture to the Filipino-American community in Los Angeles, other parts of California and the United States.  

PILAC was founded in 2011 after finding inspiration from the work done by the Council for Teaching Filipino Language and Culture (CTFLC) in San Diego, California.  Since then, PILAC has been involved in translation services for schools like East & West University and Cloud Elementary School. It has also collaborated with the Consulate during its activities in celebration of "Linggo ng Wika." 

During the meeting, PILAC's officers shared their line-up of activities for the fourth quarter of 2016 which include youth "balagtasan" in October, parol-making in November and Christmas Cantata in December.

The Consul General was also briefed on the Council on Trade and Investments for Filipino Americans (COTIFA). COTIFA is a 501(c)(6) organization with a primary goal of serving as a business advocate - educating, encouraging, advocating and facilitating active participation of Filipino-Americans in creating and building wealth that will benefit the U.S. and the Philippines.

COTIFA has worked with the Consulate during the hosting of the Philippine Trade and Investment Roadshow in Los Angeles in 2013. It also actively participates in events conducted by the Port of Los Angeles. COTIFA is currently looking at possible trade missions to the Philippines.

The Consulate continues to support organizations like PILAC and COTIFA that assist in its efforts for the promotion of Philippines' cultural and economic diplomacy programs and activities. END