| Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Part XI of “Searching for SuperAgers Among Filipinos and North Americans” Series
This columnist wrote on October 17, 2021, How Filipinos Can Indeed Become God’s Chosen People.”It reiterated to the new President Joe Biden how Filipino Americans could help his Administration solve some of the many socioeconomic problems that torment the United States.
In particular, the column article suggested that the Biden Administration invite more Overseas-Filipino workers (OFW) and Overseas Filipinos to come and help America. There are now five million Filipino Americans who live and work in the United States. Filipino workers are found in all the continents, too — as an Overseas-Filipino Melting Pot, as described in an earlier series in this Philippine Daily Mirror. And spearhead the forming of what this columnist has coined, the SWATT teams. SWATT is the acronym of Social Workers, Agriculturists, Technicians, and Technocrats. For instance, they would field the SWATT teams to rescue and save hundreds of U.S. farms seized by banks and lenders in the Red States after the owner-farmer committed suicide.
And also a suggestion to then-president-elect Biden to adopt a Biden Back-to-Basic Doctrine — as published in this column. And later published by Amazon Books. It was also suggested that Mr. Biden should deploy the SWATT in the American-Mexican border to grow a natural wall composed of BAMOS (Bamboo, Abaca, Moringa, and Other Species). These would deter illegal migration and address climate change, homelessness, illegal-drug dependency, and even plastic recycling (along with bamboo and abaca) — on both sides of the border. They can turn these into housing components like plywood, wallboards, environmentally safe packaging materials, and plastic as paving materials for streets or other products, as well as recycled products.
The SWATT idea would also make American deserts and barren mountains bloom with trees like the suggested BAMOS, as well as other vegetation like the dragon-fruit shrub (cactus). And likewise teem with wildlife, such as quails amid planted herbs and natural medicinal plants.
But President Biden probably never read the ideas proposed in this column and the book. Perhaps the White House Press Office did not bother to forward to the POTUS even an executive summary of the proposals.
Pope Leo XIV, as the first American pontiff, can rally the five million Americans of Filipino descent, the 35 million Mexican Americans, and tens of millions more of immigrants from all over the world who are Catholic, Christian, or of other religions that recognize the Prophet Abraham as their common patriarch. Yes, rally to provide human and financial resources to private and public partnerships (PPP) that American parishes, ministries, and congregations — working together in coalitions — can organize in constructing tenement housing units atop new parking buildings.
” … After all, the proposed movement is multiethnic, ecumenical, or interfaith and multi-lingual in approach and organization-wise. Homelessness does not choose if its victims belong to any faith or if they are atheists, or of any skin color. Or whether they are civilians, retired military personnel, or LEOs (law-enforcement officers).”
And cities are turning abandoned, unfinished buildings over to the PPPs to finish as housing units. And even rebuild old brick one- or two-story buildings into 5- to 8-story parking-condo complexes that can be constructed as earthquake-resistant new edifices. Anything is possible if Pope Leo XIV can mobilize and motivate tens of millions of willing volunteers, known as the “Pope’s Chosen People”. And the Vatican can count on the many retired priests, nuns, and missionary workers, especially the SuperAgers among them, to strengthen the reins of leadership.
As mentioned in Part X of this series, Pope Leo XIV may also address homelessness in the Northeast. For instance, he can persuade the Archdiocese of New York to call a meeting of the leading candidates for the Big Apple’s Office of the Mayor. And even to a televised event on how they can all sign a “Covenant with the People of New York” to end homelessness — based on the PPP ideas as ventilated in this series. For a start, they can all pledge to use vacated prisons and public buildings to be converted to housing units or condos.
There is an additional proposal mentioned in Part X to tap community associations like the United Bicolandia Los Angeles (UBLA) to spearhead a coalition of associations in Southern California that will help in organizing said PPPs. The UBLA has held a fiesta for “Our Lady of Peñafrancia (of Spain and the Philippines)” in a public park in Los Angeles, California, for the past 50 years. It can turn its 52nd edition of the fiesta into a “Marian Festival” in 2026. The commemoration can also feature the Virgin of Guadalupe of Mexico (which became the original patroness of the Philippines), “Our Lady of Lourdes” of France, “Our Lady of Fatima” of Portugal, the Virgin Mary of Medjugorje of Bosnia, and other apparitions of the Blessed Mother of Jesus Christ in different countries, like the “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” which is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon.
The proposed Marian Festival in Southern California can be duplicated in other states where PPPs to address homelessness are organized. The festival can be held year-round on a weekend, especially during a long weekend or at county fairs. Friday night can be a Marian Concert that showcases performances by the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO), Mexican Mariachi bands, and other ethnic musical and dance troupes. All of the proposed events can be broadcast live on television and Pay-TV channels. If done year-round, it can raise substantial funding on a cooperative basis for the proposed homeless tenement projects. By the way, the FASO conducted a concert last Friday, August 15, 2025, at the Queen of Angels Cathedral in Downtown Los Angeles.
There can be many other associations that can be invited, such as groups of Catholics, Christians, Orthodox, and other denominations, to join this campaign to end or at least mitigate homelessness on medium-to long-term goals. Other associations can be invited to join these projects. Like the Filipino-American Society of Architects and Engineers (FASAE) based in San Francisco (California), the Habitat for Humanity (as initiated by the Carter Foundation of Georgia), the clubs of the Lions, Jaycees, Rotarians, and others that are present in nearly all 50 states and U.S. territories.
In short, organizations and foundations will never decline an invitation from the first American pontiff to join in completing this secular mission of ending homelessness. After all, the proposed movement is multiethnic, ecumenical, or interfaith and multi-lingual in approach and organization-wise. Homelessness does not choose if its victims belong to any faith or if they are atheists, or of any skin color. Or whether they are civilians, retired military personnel, or LEOs (law-enforcement officers)
Quo vadis, Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV?
