PH Consulate General in Los Angeles Congratulates The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America for EMMY Win
Screenshot photos taken from the livestream. (Los Angeles PCG photo)
LOS ANGELES 15 June 2020 – The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles congratulates The Filipino Channel’s (TFC) Balitang America (BA) for its winning entry to the 49th Annual Northern California Area EMMY Awards, entitled “KEPT: Six Decades of Servitude” under the category Human Interest Program/Special Category on 06 June 2020. “Kept” won over two other entries submitted under said category.
“Kept” documents the life of Fedelina Lugasan, an 82-year old Filipina who was rescued by the Federal Bureau of Immigration in early 2018 from the slave-like conditions she endured for more than six decades in the hands of a Southern California family. Nanay Fedelina won her case against her traffickers in January 2019 through the assistance of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) of Southern California and United States law enforcement. The Consulate General played a crucial role in helping her obtain a passport and in assisting the provision of a shelter as well as legal needs.
BA correspondent and “Kept” producer/writer/host Steve Angeles said in his acceptance speech during the livestream awards ceremony that he is relieved that Nanay Fedelina’s story had a happy ending. Mr. Angeles also expressed his gratitude to the community that supported and continued to check on and care for Nanay Fedelina, especially the Consulate General, PWC, owners and staff at Long Beach Care Center, as well as United States federal authorities.
Today, Nanay Fedelina has become an active anti-trafficking advocate herself by sharing her story during meetings and gatherings of other migrant advocates to inspire them in their fight against all forms of trafficking, as well as to urge other trafficking victims to come out into the open and receive justice for themselves.
The San Francisco/Northern California Area EMMY Awards are presented for outstanding achievements in television by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). It is one of the 19 chapters awarding regional EMMY statues to media companies and individuals from Visalia to the Oregon border and includes Hawaii and Reno, Nevada. It was founded in 1961. END
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