By Alex P. Vidal
“To govern is to choose. To appear to be unable to choose is to appear to be unable to govern.”—Nigel Lawson
FILIPINA billionaire Loida Nicolas-Lewis “will be recognized” for her contributions in helping fire up the Filipino-American support and votes for the Biden-Harris tandem in the recent U.S. Presidential Elections 2020, but there was no offer yet from President-elect Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. for her to join the White House cabinet.
This was disclosed exclusively on November 15 by a source with connections in the Philippine Consulate in New York City who refused to be named because he was not authorized by Nicolas-Lewis.
The Sorsogon-born Nicolas-Lewis, 78, is the national spokesperson for Filipino Americans for Biden.
The philanthropist female lawyer is reportedly “on the radar” of the incoming Biden administration for a possible cabinet post in the White House because of her involvement in the promotion and advancement of the Democratic Party’s political and moral principles in the Filipino community.
The civic leader and spouse of the late billionaire Reginald F. Lewis, owner of the $985-million Beatrice International, hasn’t issued an official statement regarding the report as of this writing.
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“She is closer to Mrs. Clinton and has ties with the state’s top Democratic Party officials being a regular donor and major supporter and leader of the Asian-American groups that raised funds for the Democratic Party campaign,” the source said.
“I am an immigrant and us immigrants, you know, get things done,” Nicolas-Lewis, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) Victory Fund board member, told a crowd during a “Biden Works for Nevada” campaign.
The Pew Research Center said AAPIs are considered the fastest-growing segment of eligible voters out of the major ethnic groups in the United States.
Filipino Americans, along with Chinese and Indian Americans, are among the top three groups in the United States Asian electorate.
During the campaign, Nicolas-Lewis, who backed Mar Roxas in the 2016 Philippine presidential race, blasted Mr. Trump and called him “Twitter-in-chief, liar-in-chief, mean-spirited, misogynist, racist, self-centered, juvenile” who “wants to make America white again.”
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Nicolas-Lewis, who in 1974 became the first Asian woman to pass the New York Bar that made her eligible to practice law in both the Philippines and in the United States, also played an active role for the Democrats when former State Secretary Hillary Clinton ran and lost to President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
She managed to convince many undecided voters from the Filipino community to vote for the Biden-Harris tandem by telling them Senator and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was an “excellent choice” as Mr. Biden’s running mate as it “once again lifts Asian Americans and Black Americans to the national scene.”
Nicolas Lewis said earlier she knew Mr. Biden’s choice of Senator Harris was a “winning combination” and a call to action for fellow Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).
She added: “Kamala knows what are the hardships and triumphs of a person of color in America. We will be the margin of victory for Biden/Harris in this historic iconic election, which is a fight for the soul of America.”
She predicted it correctly: Mr. Biden walloped Mr. Trump, 302-232 in the Electoral College votes.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, was a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)
