YAMAN Exhibit: Showcasing the Philippines’ teeming treasures

New York - Jerry Sibal and Edwin Josue of the Friends of the Philippine Society have raised the bar of Philippine cultural and trade exhibitions as they opened Yaman (treasure) in the heart of New York City on October 31, 2025.

Set in the iconic Marriott Marquis in Times Square, Yaman was true to its literal meaning - an interactive showcase of the abundance of Philippine arts and crafts and inspirational stories of select Filipino men and women.

At the formal opening on festive Halloween, Josue thanked their  supporters and said, "we are not only celebrating Filipino American History month this October. We are also making history."

Yaman, a brainchild of Sibal, is set to become a yearly undertaking in the Big Apple. "This is a team effort. I'm doing this for the love of our weavers. Please support them to sustain our indigenous arts. I've been around for awhile, and this may be my last (legacy) project," he said, quite emotionally

In the East Coast, there are more than 262,000 Filipinos in the diasporic communities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. According to the 2014 government census, about 94,000 are living in New York, and concentrated mainly in the borough of Queens. Nationwide, Filipinos rank third among Asians, tailing the Chinese (2nd) and Indians (1st) in the most recent census.

From October 31 to November 2, well-participated Yaman featured top line Filipino and Filipino American culinary artists, entrepreneurs, couturiers, and performers. Sibal and Josue wanted to link the diasporic communities with artisans and entrepreneurs to keep alive Philippine culture and economy. The undertaking was noble and compelling, with the practical challenge of the high cost of mounting a cultural extravaganza.

Elena Balbas, one of the participating weavers who flew in from Abra, demonstrated how paghahabi (weaving) is done using cotton threads which her family creates. She has learned the art from her mother and has taught her children as well. Her income from weaving has sent all her three children to school. "We need a steady demand for our habi," she said, as their constant challenge.

Weaving (i.e. textiles, mats, tapestries, and baskets) is a pervasive indigenous art in rural Philippines which dates back to pre-Spanish colonial times and generationally handed down, mostly by women.

The three-day exhibit opened with a fireside conversation with Loida Nicolas Lewis, Philippine philanthropist and leader and  Filam Lee Hower, co-founder of LinkedIn on "How to be a successful Filipino American.”

It was a substantial, inspiring forum, to begin with, as YAMAN poses to be the Philippines premier cultural and trade exhibition in the heart of NYC.

Lewis and Hower shared their journeys as lawyer-billionaire and digital technology investor, respectively. The weighty part was when Lewis, a Filipino household name here and otherwise known as ‘pambansang tita (national aunt)',’ quipped that she has GOD (Goal setting, Obedience to a code of ethics, and Determination), taking inspiration from her parents from Sorsogon who walked the talk. 

Living up to its name, Yaman kicked off with abundance of wisdom from sparkling Filipino American leaders, artists, professionals, and innovators.