The Filipino-American National Historical Society has been presenting hysteria as history – Bobby Reyes 

Chicago-based journalist Joseph G. Lariosa wrote in 2005 this article,”Are ‘Manilamen’ For Real?: Debunking an Urban Legend.” The www.pinoyonboard.com was one of the online and hardcopy publications that printed it. Mr. Lariosa’s article can still be read in the website’s archive by going to this hyperlink http://www.pinoyonboard.com/pob/2005/1104_jlariosa.html

Mr. Lariosa found as pure fiction the inclusion of a Bernard Docusen as an alleged descendant of “Manilamen” in the book, “Filipinos in Louisiana,” (1988, A. F. Laborde & Sons) written by Marina Espina.

Here is what Mr. Lariosa wrote:

“'History of "Manilamen" of New Orleans lost to Katrina,’ that was posted on the Internet on Sept. 18, 2005, Mr. Frank Cimatu wrote among others: ‘According to Marina Espina’s research, the first Filipinos to arrive in the United States settled in the marshes around New Orleans where they became known as ‘Manilamen’ or ‘Filipino Cajuns.’

“’One of the better-known descendants of the Manilamen was boxer Bernard Docusen for the world welterweight title but failed to wrest the crown when he lost by decision to champion Sugar Ray Robinson in a 1948 bout in Chicago.’

“No ‘Manilaman’

“This bit of information was news to Mr. Ed Navarra, region 3 director of the National Federation of Filipino American Association (NaFFAA) based in Michigan, when he responded: ‘Bernard Ducusen (sic), the American born boxer who almost defeated Sugar Ray Robinson, is not a descendant of the Manilamen. He was born and raised in New Orleans by a Filipino father and a French mother.

Bobby Reyes has accused the FANHS of fabricating outright lies and hoaxes about the history of Filipinos in the United States.
“’After he retired from boxing he brought his family to Michigan in the early fifties to settle and work here.

“’I interviewed him at length and his father came to the states in the early part of the century from Pangasinan. I have the 100-page journal he wrote himself. And I have clippings from his scrapbook. It is preposterous to claim that he is a descendant of the Manilamen who settled in Louisiana in the 1700’s., when his father, a Philippine Scout, arrived much later than the so-called ‘Manilamen’.”

To read the rest of Mr. Lariosa’s article, please click on:

http://www.pinoyonboard.com/pob/2005/1104_jlariosa.html

So many historians – from Ambeth Ocampo to the founders of the Philippine History Group of Los Angeles  -- have reported as pure hoaxes the claims of Mrs. Espina about the supposed arrival of Filipino settlers in Louisiana in 1763. Ms. Espina is a trustee of the Filipino-American National Historical Society (FANHS).

Editor’s Note: Ambeth Ocampo is currently teaching at the History Department, School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University.

This writer has accused the FANHS of fabricating outright lies and hoaxes about the history of Filipinos in the United States. For instance, he wrote: “The Filipino-American National Historical Society (FANHS) did NOT discuss during its Free Community Symposium in honor of the ‘Filipino-American History Month’ on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, the accusations of Bobby Reyes that most of its historical claims are hoaxes. The venue was at the CSUN Satellite Student Union (SSU) – Fernandeño Room, CalState University-Northridge Campus. The symposium was dubbed the ‘FANHS-LA: History in the Moment.’ Bobby Reyes, the number-one critic of the FANHS, urged that the symposium discuss the ‘Fake History' that he claimed the FANHS has been feeding the gullible Filipinos in America . . .”

To read the entire article written by Bobby Reyes, please click on this link, FANHS Refuses to Prove Its Historical Claims Are Not Hoaxes

There are other articles written by Bobby Reyes that attack the credibility of the FANHS, an organization that he (Reyes) describes as one that “mistakes hysteria for history.” These are some of the articles that he penned about the FANHS:

Destroying More FANHS Myths About the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade

How the Hoax About a “Filipino” Cofounder of L.A. Started. And Cofounder (sic) Wasn't Even Filipino?

The Filipino Heritage Month Is a Big Hoax. It's "OctoberFake."

Dr. Owen Comments on "Filipino Trivia" or "Filipino Pride" Historical Hoaxes

Here LIES the Summary of Filipino History in America?

It is not just Bobby Reyes who has been saying that the FANHS and its trustees like Marina Espina have been faking Filipino history in America. Responsible people like the NaFFAA regional director Ed Navarra and journalist Joseph Lariosa have come to the same conclusion about the hoaxes in the FANHS official publications. # # #