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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Roland Casamina, left, and Eddie Flores toured the FilCom Center in Waipahu last month as it was being finished.




Skeptics said it
couldn’t be done

2 businessmen teamed up
to turn a dream into reality

» A center of their own
» Mabuhay Festival begins tomorrow
» Center looks to be a place of activity


By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

Skeptics told Roland Casamina and Eddie Flores Jr. that they couldn't build a Filipino Community Center after several attempts failed in the past.

But the two successful businessmen proved them wrong.

"After 10 years, I still cannot believe it's there. My heart just keeps pounding. I can't believe it actually happened," Flores said.

The partnership of Casamina and Flores has proved successful with the completion of the FilCom Center in Waipahu near the Oahu Sugar Mill.

Both first met in 1976, when Casamina placed an advertisement in the newspaper to sell his red Triumph. Flores contacted Casamina and purchased the sports car.

Little did Flores and Casamina know that they would work together on a $14.2 million project 16 years later.

"It was not until we started this project that we started to know each other, and we became best friends ever since," Casamina said.

"For 10 years we never fought," he added.

Casamina's parents, Santos and Flora Casamina, arrived in Honolulu from Ilocos Sur, a province of the Philippines, and later petitioned for Roland and his three siblings to arrive in 1968. In 1972, Casamina graduated from Farrington High School. He later obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii.

Casamina became the youngest branch manager at International Savings & Loan and incorporated his experience in lending toward opening his own company, House of Finance, a nondepository financial institution.

Through the years, Casamina was faced with questions in the community that the construction of the FilCom Center could not be done after several attempts ended in negative results.

Researching previous undertakings, Casamina created a strategic plan to gain the community's support for the project. After the FilCom Center received nonprofit status in 1993, Casamina announced his plan to develop a center in Waipahu.

Casamina displayed his commitment to the center by making the first donation of $5,000.

"Then more and more people wanted to join," he said.

Once the donated land for the center's site was rezoned in 1998, Casamina kicked off a campaign to solicit donations from the community.

Casamina and Flores used their personal funds to cover travel and food expenses flying to places such as Washington, D.C., and the Philippines to find funding for the FilCom Center. Both also sought support from corporations and private trusts and foundations.

Moreover, both businessmen donated $50,000 each to the construction costs of the center.

"I think it's been worthwhile," Casamina said. "I feel like my mission is accomplished."

Casamina first collaborated with Associate Justice Mario Ramil, attorney and former consumer protector Stanley Suyat and state Rep. Felipe Abinsay Jr. As membership of the group changed, Casamina asked Flores to help with development of the FilCom Center.

Flores, known for opening a chain of L&L Drive-Inns throughout the state and on the mainland, first arrived in Honolulu from Hong Kong in 1963 with his parents, Eduardo and Margaret, and his six siblings. He later traveled to San Francisco and graduated from Balboa High School in 1996. Thereafter, Flores returned to Honolulu and attended the University of Hawaii, obtaining a bachelor's degree in business administration. He then attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received his master's degree.

Along with help from volunteers and donations from the community and government agencies, Flores attributed the completion of the center to his working relationship with Casamina and the political clout Filipinos have gained throughout the years.

"We have been at the bottom of the economic social ladder for many years. This is a symbol of our success," he said.



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