LONG BEACH, California — On the eve of Mother’s Day here, the sons and daughters of the Filipino diaspora in this part of America are preparing a parade to honor the life of an illegal immigrant mother and widow from Manila killed by a hit-and-run driver last year.

Friends and community activists gathered on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning in Manila) at the Filipino Migrant Center (FMC) along Burnett Avenue here to remember Lorna Escusa, a 75-year-old Filipina caregiver, the victim of a hit-and-run last Sept. 4, on her way to the St. Lucy Catholic Church at the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and 23rd Street.

“Lorna was going to Mass that morning when the accident happened. Such a tragic fate for a member of our faith community,” said Fr. Budi Wardhana, the pastor at St. Lucy where some of the 20,000 Filipino immigrants in this city come to worship.

Wardhana visited Escusa as she lay comatose at St. Mary’s Hospital. It was the immigrant Catholic priest from Indonesia who administered the last rites to her.

Cause célèbre

“My heart broke when I learned that she had died. I was devastated,” said Nanette Apacible, a retired nurse and Escusa’s best friend.

Escusa’s death became a cause célèbre for a community made unsafe by disappearing street lighting and broken street signs which activists claim were responsible for her untimely death.

They say the money that should have been used for public infrastructure is being diverted to build sporting arenas for the 2028 Olympics.

“We deserve the right to confidently walk in our streets without fear for our lives,” said Theresa Jaranilla, one of the FMC officials.

As part of their call, they demand from city officials the immediate repair of old and neglected road infrastructure that endanger lives and limbs of the citizens here.

HONORING A MOM. Volunteers at the Filipino Migrant Center in Long Beach, California prepare for Saturday’s parade honoring Filipina caregiver Lorna Escusa. —Danny Petilla

Immigration crackdown

Escusa’s death has also galvanized the local Filipino community that is already threatened—some to the point of being traumatized—by the shadowy arrests of immigrants across America on orders of President Donald Trump with his policy of mass deportations.

The FMC’s unimposing office has become a sanctuary of sorts for Filipino TNTs (tago nang tago) migrants who are victims of human trafficking and illegal labor practices like wage theft and nonpayment of overtime work.

On this Friday afternoon, youthful volunteers at the center are preparing to honor the memory of Escusa for a parade on the eve of Mother’s Day.

Sacrifices for family

“She was a mother. That is all I need to know,” said 20-year-old Matthew Samar, one of the volunteers, driving the last nail to a placard he will use on Saturday’s parade.

“I think of my own mom as we celebrate her,” Samar said.

“She (Escusa) was living alone here in America. She was working hard every day to provide for her two sons and their families back in Manila,” added the 70-year-old Apacible, who hails from Kawit, Cavite province.

CAUSE CELEBRE. Volunteer Matthew Samar shows a sign he will carry for the parade to honor Filipina caregiver Lorna Escusa. —Danny Petilla

Boxes ready

After retiring as an employee of the Pag-Ibig Fund in Manila, Escusa got a visitor’s visa to the United States and arrived in California 11 years ago.

She overstayed her visa and started working as a caregiver to the elderly, earning decently by sometimes working around the clock, according to Apacible.

“Lorna was the ultimate testament of how a mother sacrifices for her loved ones. Her monthly remittances paid for her two sons, Michael and Jade, to finish their education,” Apacible said.

She said her friend—whose husband died in Manila in 2022 —had become increasingly despondent and miserable.

She was also fearful that she could be deported if Donald Trump wins the presidential elections, Apacible said.

Escusa’s death on that fateful September morning made all that immaterial.

After her remains were cremated, her friends went to her rented apartment to prepare all the things she had accumulated from working for 10 years in America.

They were surprised to find her belongings all bundled in balikbayan boxes that had been neatly piled up.

She was ready to go home.

A girls’ track meet in California was turned into a political rally on Saturday amid a growing controversy over a trans athlete who has dominated in the girls’ high-jump, long-jump and triple-jump this season. 

The rally came less than two days after three of the state’s esteemed Christian high schools sent a letter to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) challenging its longstanding policy that allows biological males in girls’ sports. 

JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran High School and Crean Lutheran High School sent a joint letter to the CIF Thursday, referencing the trans athlete who competed in Saturday’s state semifinal prelims. 

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“For young women, CIF’s Gender Identity Policy means lost opportunities and an unlevel playing field. The consequences of this Policy will be felt this weekend as CIF’s state semi-final competitions for track and field events take place. Star female athletes, some of whom attend our schools, will soon compete in multiple track and field events against a male athlete who self-identifies as a female,” the letter read. 

“CIF’s Gender Identity Policy also fosters an environment that is increasingly hostile to religious member schools. CIF’s expectation that all faith-based schools facilitate the CIF Gender Identity Policy puts religious schools in the untenable position of adhering to the tenets of their faith in their classrooms and communities but practicing something contrary to their faith on their athletic fields.” 

The letter went on to suggest that some of the female athletes competing for the three Christian schools considered not competing against the trans athlete in Saturday’s semifinal prelims. 

And then prior to Saturday’s meet at Yorba Linda High School, multiple girls’ athletes, parents and school officials spoke at a press conference organized by California Family Council outreach director Sophia Lorey. 

“No matter how hard we train, how many hours we put in, reality will always set in that men and women are different,” said Olivia Viola of Crean Lutheran. “To me, this just doesn’t seem fair. CIF is doing nothing to protect us female athletes.” 

The CIF is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports, and potential Title IX violations. 

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California was one of the first states to openly defy President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order after he signed it on Feb. 5. 

“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records,” the CIF previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom said during an episode of his podcast that he believes trans athletes competing with girls is “deeply unfair.” But the governor still justified policies that enable it for the sake of empathy for the trans community. 

The state has seen multiple controversies erupt over the past year regarding the issue, and many other residents and even some schools are taking stands against the state officials enforcing the inclusion policies. 

The Redlands Unified school board in San Bernardino voted in late April to adopt a new policy that would keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. 

A bipartisan survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the majority of California residents oppose biological male trans athletes competing in women’s sports. 

That figure included more than 70% of the state’s school parents.

“Most Californians support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth,” the poll stated. 

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“Solid majorities of adults (65%) and likely voters (64%) support requiring that transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with. An overwhelming majority of public school parents (71%) support such a requirement.”

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