Violeta Marasigan; Bay Area Activist for Filipino Americans

Violeta Marasigan, 61, a San Francisco Bay Area activist for Filipino Americans and a former political prisoner who opposed Ferdinand Marcos. Born in the Philippines, Marasigan attended college in the United States but returned to Manila in 1971, a year before Marcos declared a dictatorship. She joined the resistance movement, championing human rights and feminist causes. In 1982, Marasigan was arrested and charged with subversion. She spent a year in the infamous Camp Crame. After Marcos was toppled in 1986, Marasigan and her family moved to the Bay Area. She became a counselor and social worker for such groups as West Bay Filipino Multi-Services and Asian American Recovery Services, assisting Asian and Filipino immigrants and young people. Marasigan, who nicknamed herself “Bullet” for her directness, led campaigns to reopen the Filipino Education Center for immigrant children, get equal military benefits for Filipino American veterans of World War II, prevent destruction of housing for elderly Filipinos and protest television sitcom slurs about buying Filipino brides. On Tuesday in San Francisco after she was struck by the car she had just parked.