‘Dinagyang’, ‘Manggahan’ NYC parade facilitator wins TOFA award

“It doesn't matter how many times you win an award, it is always very special.”
--Zinedine Zidane

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- She is known among the Ilonggos here as the “Mother of Dinagyang and Manggahan Festivals in the New York City Philippine Independence Day Parade.”

JALANDONI during the parade on June 3, 2018

A New Jersey-based professional nurse from Victorias City, Negros Occidental in the Philippines responsible for bringing here two famous religious and cultural festivals from the Philippines, Joji Juele Jalandoni is the 2018 The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) awardee for arts and culture.
Jalandoni, who graduated her masteral in Hospital Administration/Nurse Executive Program from Teachers College Columbia University in 2015, will receive the award on October 28, 2018 at the Carnegie Hall in Manhattan along with her fellow awardees.
A consummate community volunteer service leader and organizer, Jalandoni has been known for always placing her volunteer community pursuits first before her professional chores.
In her chosen profession, Jalandoni has stayed above the mundanely important duties of a regular nurse, choosing to specialize in the executive side of the profession by continuing to hold the position of Infection Control and prevention Associate Director at her place of employment.

As the president of the Silliman University Alumni Association from 2007-2009, Jalandoni is very much respected, revered and requested for services in myriad community undertakings, generally and most especially in the Filipino-American community in the northeastern United States.
The awardee has served as the president of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), a Filipino and Filipino-American community wide organization that organizes, produce, direct, manage, execute and present the many month-long or almost a year of multi event annual commemoration of the declaration of the Philippine Independence in New York City.
Through the 28 years of celebrating the commemoration, the New York City festival has gained many reputations, foremost of which is being the largest celebration of Philippine Independence Day in the world, larger even than the one held annually in the Philippines.
At the time Jalandoni presided over the PIDCI, it has attracted over 200 member organizations of Filipino and Filipino-American organizations, associations, clubs and groups.
Jalandoni has been largely credited for a gargantuan feat no other Filipino-American leader has done before: bringing to the United States of the Dinagyang Festival from Iloilo City four times (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018 during the parade’s 50th anniversary) and, also in 2018, the Manggahan Festival from Guimaras Province, all in Western Visayas to join the PIDCI parade aimed to promote the Philippines’ “rich” culture and heritage on June 3, 2018.
Jalandoni noted that the 2018 participation for the first time of a big delegation from the island-province of Guimaras “has helped provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for the kids from far-flung rural areas and ‘street kids’ from Iloilo City on the part of Dinagyang Festival.”
Officials of City of Iloilo led by Mayor Jose Espinosa III and Provincial Government of Guimaras led by Governor Samuel Gumarin extolled Jalandoni for personally visiting the city and province one after the other early in 2018 to personally extend and arrange the two festivals’ participation in the prestigious New York City Philippine Independence Day parade which is known all over the world.
Jalandoni has served as the vice president/advisory council from 2009 to present of the Victoriahanon (Victorias Milling Company and Victorias City, Negros Occidental group).
Presently she is the vice president of Negrosanon.
Jalandoni also serves as the PIDCI chairperson on special projects (Education and Cultural Committee) from 2012 to present.
Her other involvement in community service is being a member of Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) of New York City, Inc. from 2003 to present; and as 2011 awardee for for Community Service.