Sacramento – A beloved leader in the Bay Area’s Filipino community may soon have a highway segment named after her. The Assembly Transportation Committee today approved ACR 165, a resolution by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) that designates the Daly City portion of State Route 35 as the Alice Peña Bulos Memorial Highway.
“Every May, we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month to commemorate the important contributions Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have provided our country,” said Ting. “With this in mind, it is my honor to recognize Alice Peña Bulos, who is considered the Godmother of Filipino American politics and empowerment. Her career in community organizing epitomizes leadership not just in the Filipino community, but also throughout the state of California. I am proud to represent the district where Bulos’ activism was rooted and her legacy lives on.”
Bulos was born on March 31, 1930 in the Philippines. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in social and behavioral science at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where she later served as professor and chair of the Department of Sociology. In 1972, she and her family moved to San Francisco and later to Sacramento. Over the span of four decades, Bulos dedicated herself to empowering generations of Filipino Americans to amplify their voices through civic participation. Her influence includes serving on the Filipino American Caucus for the California Democratic Party, the National Filipino Women’s Network, and the National Asian Pacific Democratic Council.
“Throughout her life, ‘Tita Alice’ was committed to opening doors for young Fil-Ams who wanted to enter public service and politics but did not see themselves represented in those places of power. While she is no longer with us, her memory lives on in her family and the numerous friends, supporters, and pupils she inspired over her decades of service,” said the Filipino American Democratic Club of San Mateo County, whose members include Daly City and South San Francisco Council members, as well as other prominent San Mateo County Filipino American leaders.
ACR 165 has a few more stops in the legislative process. If it’s signed into law, supporters may raise money for the cost of signage. Non-state funds are required for the creation of all memorial highway signs.
Photo Courtesy: Filipino American Democratic Caucus
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