THREE FLOW MEMBERS RECOGNIZED AS EMERGING FILIPINO LEADERS

Rommel E. de las Alas, Florian Purganan, and Benes Aldana (left to right).

Seattle, WA – September 24, 2009 – The Filipino Lawyers of Washington, an association of legal professionals in the Filipino community, is pleased to announce that three of its members, Benes Aldana, Rommel E. de las Alas, and Florian Purganan, have been nominated for Emerging Filipino Leaders Awards by the Filipino Community of Seattle.

The Filipino Community of Seattle presented its inaugural EFL Awards on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at the Filipino Community Center in Seattle. The EFL Awards aim to recognize up and coming Filipino-Americans under the age of 40 who have generated political visibility in the Fil-Am community through their volunteerism, professional expertise, or leadership. Individuals were nominated in several different categories, including Education, Cultural/Performing Arts, and Law. Aldana was awarded the EFL for Law.

FLOW President, Abigail Daquiz, said, “We are excited that Benes, Rommel, and Ian (Florian) have been recognized not only for their professional excellence, but also for their commitment to the Filipino community. Their individual accomplishments and dedication add enormous value to the community and truly exemplify FLOW’s objectives of advocacy, growth, unity, and celebration.”

Benes Aldana is a Founding Director of FLOW. He is a military judge in the U.S. Coast Guard. He is currently in an out-of-specialty tour serving as the Executive Officer at Coast Guard Integrated Support Command Seattle. Prior to this position, he served as the Deputy District Legal Officer for the 13th Coast Guard District and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. He has served as a Trial Attorney for the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and was also deployed as a legal advisor to the DoD Criminal Investigation Task Force, charged with investigating the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Aldana is active in the local and national bar, currently serving as the President of the Asian Bar Association of Washington, the Secretary of the American Bar Association (ABA) General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division, and the ABA State Membership Chair. He has previously served in the ABA House of Delegates, the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, and was the Assembly Speaker of the ABA Young Lawyers Division.

Rommel E. de las Alas is a Founding Member of FLOW and an attorney with the Orion Law Firm. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He has served as a former Criminal Division Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and received recognition for outstanding service as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney from the Thurston County Prosecutor's Office.  He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and is an alumnus of the University of Washington, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. de las Alas is actively involved in the local Filipino American community and is conversant in Tagalog. He currently serves as a board member of the Filipino Community of Seattle. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington he strives for the empowerment of all Filipino-Americans.

Florian D. Purganan is a Founding Director of FLOW. He is an attorney at Hanis Irvine Prothero, practicing exclusively in immigration and citizenship law. His practice encompasses all areas of immigration law, particularly adjustment of status, family petitions, waiver applications, and deportation defense. He is currently the Youth Chair of the regional chapter of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). He has served as the Assistant Secretary of the Filipino American Association of Shoreline and is a member of the Filipino Community of Seattle.  Purganan has been an invited speaker on immigration topics at the 2006 NaFFAA National Conference in Hawaii, and various forums at the Filipino Community Center in Seattle. He volunteers at the International District Legal Clinic and the King County Immigration Legal Clinic. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Neighborhood House.

About the Filipino Community of Seattle. The Filipino Community of Seattle is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the needs of Filipinos and Filipino Americans since 1935. Filipino Americans living in the Seattle and neighboring areas are encouraged to be active members of the organization. To become a member, you can fill out the Membership Form and bring or send it together with the $5.00 membership fee to FCS (Filipino Community of Seattle) at Filipino Community Center, 5740 M.L. King Jr. Way South, Seattle WA 98118.