FilAm event host Jocelyn Bernal honors grit of her immigrant mom as solo parent

By Marivir Montebon

New York – It takes a strong mother and a village to raise good immigrant children. That’s what a Filipino-American honoree emphasized in her narrative during the Philippine flag raising ceremony today June 17, 2024 at the historic Bowling Green Park in the city’s financial district.

Jocelyn Bernal, distinctively known as a program host of Filipino events, paid tribute to her mother Rosalinda dela Rosa Bernal, who raised her and her two siblings in New York, after being widowed at an early age. Hardwork, thrift, and determination were the mark of Rosie, said Bernal of her mother.

Bernal has been living in New York for 38 years now. She is currently the budget manager of the New York University College of Dentistry.

Jocelyn Bernal

Bernal and her mom Rosie

The other honorees were businessman Romel Canete of Newmark New York and Dr. Kevin Nadal, a distinguished professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

They were acknowledged for their remarkable achievements in their industry by the Philippine Consulate General in New York and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in celebration of the 126th Philippine Independence.

Excerpts of Bernal’s written acceptance speech (in the interest of time, she shortened her spoken narrative):

“My immigrant story began on May 17, 1986, when my mother and I arrived on a Northwest flight from Manila to Narita and into JFK Airport. I had been to New York once before in 1978 for my summer vacation.

My father had just passed away 3 years prior at the age of 46. My mom had not worked for the past 15 years and now had to raise three high schoolers who were about to enter college at the same time.

We were petitioned by my grandmother who also just got petitioned by my aunt Lily.

My mother cashed out limited savings and decided to move to New York City for a better life and the opportunities this city could offer. Through a network of friends, mom was able to get a job as a sales lady – no rest for the working person. Thanks to my mother, she was able to get a job just around the block, at a clothing store where she stood for 8 hours in the day, only having 30 minutes to eat lunch and rest her feet. I’m hoping now that the union people are able to allow people a little bit more rest time.

But she thought that is not enough to raise three children.

My mom took a medical records course at Touro College at the age of 52. She was able to get two jobs – 9-11 pm at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. That was her life for 20 years.

Through her sacrifice, she had three children graduating from NYU Stern, Pace University and Baruch College. All within stops on the GREEN line – from City Hall stop, to Astor Place stop and to 23rd Street stop.”

To Bernal, living a good decent life in New York goes back to the values of being family-oriented, faithful, hardworking, disciplined, and creative.   

“Although we lived a lower middle-class life, I did not get to feel any hardship while growing up. Certainly, we were thrifty and got by because my mother and her siblings made sure that we had everything we needed,” she said.

Not all dreams come true but one must be pragmatic, as Bernal did.

“My dream was to be a foreign service diplomat after living an expat life overseas. The other option was to be a network anchor. I wanted to be like Tina Monzon Palma of GMA7 or Kristine Johnson of CBS2 New York, Hazel Sanchez of PIX11 New York or an investigative reporter like Nina Pineda of ABC7 New York.

Because of my father’s untimely death, and because he did not have insurance, mom took the limited money she was able to hustle and gave me a reality check about finances and education.

So, I took accounting and management but there are days when I would wonder how my life would have turned out. I have found a way to somehow live out my dream – when I get invited to emcee an event for a few hours.”

Bernal appreciates the thriving community of Filipinos and the Philippine Center on 5th Avenue as a center for Filipinos to connect with each other.

“I discovered an organization that helped me grow to become more confident, more vocal, and developed my leadership skills. It allowed me to mentor and support others. And now I am paying it forward.”

For Bernal, life’s great lesson would be to look at failure as an opportunity to learn. She also emphasized on “knowing your worth and speaking up to be heard and to contribute to society in your own way.”

The Filipino community in New York is thriving, with notable leadership in government and business sectors. Bernal (6th from right) standing next to honoree Dr. Kevin Nadal, ConGen Mangalile (8th from right), Deputy Mayor Maria Springer, Assemblymember Steven Raga, and honoree businessman Romel Canete. Also in photo are dancers of the BIBAK group, an organization of ethnic tribes in the Philippines.

The hoisting of the Philippine flag alongside the US flag is on its 3rd year of commemoration during the Philippine Independence Day in New York at Bowling Green Park, site of the declaration of independence of the US from the British monarchy.

Philippine Consul General in New York Senen Mangalile thanked the NYC government for the continued partnership of the flag raising ceremonies during Philippine Independence Day commemorations which has now entered its third year. “As we hoist the Philippine flag alongside the American flag today, we are called to reflect on the story of Filipinos in this city, a journey marked by resilience, hardwork, and achievements.”

New York City is home to about 87,000 Filipinos (Asian American Federation research 2020) who are mostly working in the medical and caregiving industries. More than half of Filipino immigrants live in Queens (54.8%), the largest borough of NYC and the world’s most racially diverse community, followed by Manhattan at 15.7 percent. The Filipino American youth is growing significantly fast at 2.6 percent in 2020.

On June 12, 2024, New York and Philadelphia have lighted their skyline with the colors of the Philippine flag to signify the growing solidarity of US and the Philippines. The One World Trade Center, Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Kosciuszko Bridge, The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building, State Education Building, Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, Empire State Plaza, State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center, Niagara Falls, Albany International Airport Gateway, MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station, Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal, Moynihan Train Hall, Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in New York have displayed the colors red, white, blue, and yellow. In Philadelphia, One Liberty Place, Two Liberty Place, and PECO Building did the same on June 12. #