 Aloha, and mabuhay. Welcome to our weekly show here on Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Emmy Ortega Anderson, your host for Pinoy Power Hawaii. I want to thank again the wonderful staff of Think Tech Hawaii for allowing us the opportunity to come to your homes and discuss issues that may interest you and, of course, that pertains or concerns our Filipino community. I have a very special guest today, who is close and dear to my heart, is an extended part of our Ortega family from La Union originally, the longest political or oldest dynasty in the Philippines. So it is my pleasure to introduce, it's like my nephew, attorney, Sunny Ganaden. Welcome, Sunny. Aloha, hey. How are you? How are you? Okay, so in our show you can speak Tagalog, Ilocano, English, or Italglish. Okay. I'm going to speak to English. Okay. So tell us a little bit about you so they could understand where you're coming from. Well, my background is I am a lawyer, I do family law, criminal law, I work with small businesses, I have two other jobs, I'm also a writer and journalist, so I have written for Hana Ho, the Hawaiian Airlines Magazine, for the Star Advertiser, for the State of Hawaii as a writer for a report on criminal justice reform in 2013, and I also teach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Ethnic Studies Department. The course that I teach is called Race, Class, and the Law, and so what we talk about is the ways that those things intersect, so the ways that I guess folks like me and you who have roots in other places, you know, we talk about how we can influence and change the law here in Hawaii and in the United States, and I spent the last year of my life running for office, trying to do my part in expanding the community service that I was taught to do kind of further with the Democratic Party, so we just had an election on August 11th, but I'm back to work now teaching and lawyering, and thank you so much for having me here. You've got a lot, you'll sound like, you know, everything. I don't, I do not. You're only 15 years old, right? No, well in my thirties. You know, our show is about empowerment, and we always want to try to bring out the best in people, and hopefully by listening to your experiences and your knowledge, we hope to inspire, especially the young ones that are tuning in and listening to our show. Absolutely. So, how did you become so adventurous, like wanting to do everything and so natural in all the things that you do? Like a lot of folks who live here in Honolulu in their 20s and 30s, I had to get a bunch of jobs to get by. I was blessed to have very good parents. My mom's a teacher, she teaches special education, she just retired this year, my dad's in business, my grandparents on my dad's side. They moved the family from the Philippines first to Guam and here and then to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the 60s. So I suppose that I'm a generation two, I suppose on that side, and I'm the only lawyer in the family. I hope there's going to be more in the future. But I was taught to give back like they gave back. My Lolo was a Philippine scout. So he served in the war and it's his service as well as my Lolo's service as a nurse that allowed us to become American. And these are the kinds of things that I talk about. So I talk about how to empower young people to be more engaged with civility, how to engage in our democracy. When you read the news or you hear the news or you check it out on your phone, it seems like every week there's something new about growing economic inequality, how hard it is to be a young person. There's a lot of folks here and a lot of Filipino folks here in Honolulu that are working two or three jobs just to live in a multi-generational home where there's a concentration of Filipino Americans here in Hawaii. There is a lacking infrastructure. Just last week we had a lot of Kalihi underwater. There are real threats to the environment here in the Pacific and there are threats to immigrant populations going on around the world. What we see in the news with the Trump administration and internationally is scary. And a lot of that can feel daunting for young people. But I think the important thing to realize is that these changes, when you want change, when you want to make a more equitable society, when you want to make democracy more fair, it requires young people. So if you look at the history of the civil rights movement in the United States in the 60s and 70s, all the cool R&B that we still listen to, the way that affected culture, what happened here in the 70s with people coming together and organizing to save the environment and save the beaches and save our surf, the local Filipino community, what happened in 1986, 1987 in Manila, that was young people. So when you look at all those pictures, it's like those are young faces with a lot of energy who are just fed up. And so you don't need to know everything about how the world works. You don't need to be a lawyer with 30 years of education. You just need to get out there and get empowered and try and do something about your community. I understand. I'm listening to you. I could listen to you all day because you sound so engaged and seems to be knowledgeable about a little bit of everything that's happening. Like I said, you're only 18 years old, so there's a lot of knowledge. I'm Filipino. You got to keep this. I am so impressed that somebody as young as you are, you want to make a difference. You want your voice to be heard. You certainly want to make changes. Well, that's the point, right? So I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to pursue an education. And prior to just maybe 30 or 40 years ago, for a lot of folks in the Filipino community, a lot of those avenues were not as readily available. So we do have a significant amount of Filipino Americans and folks that were Filipino immigrants that practice law here in Hawaii. We have judges here in Hawaii that are Filipino descent. But still, we are underrepresented. But we're still underrepresented. What does it matter that we have a whole bunch of Filipino lawyers if most of the Filipino community can't afford to hire them? Or that the actual community where Filipinos live, they don't have equal access to public education or a lot of these streets still flood. So these are the kinds of issues that we need to be engaging with in politics. So it's not enough to just get representation. It's now a time for us to maintain our integrity, our dignity, and speak on behalf of each other and community. Well, it's bringing awareness that awareness turns into action and actually wanting to do something to make a change. Well, historically, when ethnic groups get together, they have the capacity to really build power. So the Democratic Revolution of the 1950s here was led in large part by Japanese Americans who were World War II veterans. Filipinos, when they've combined, they have been able to sweep people into power. There's a significant Filipino population here who speak Tagalog and Ilocano. And they are very well represented in the service industries, in nursing, in the kinds of things that a lot of our families. We all know somebody who does these kinds of work, you know? But what it means to have equal opportunity, what it means to live in a truly democratic society is that you can be the kind of person that you want to be. So I mean, I'm blind as a bat. I don't know anything about electricity. I make a terrible mechanic. But you certainly sound knowledgeable. Well, I'm good at one thing. And that's what I'm going to try and push. And that's what equal opportunity means. It means that I had the opportunity to pursue an education. And it would be only appropriate that I try to serve the community with that education. That is so inspiring to hear that you are a self-starter or motivated. And I'm just listening to your story and how you were able to pick up the skills from the teachings of your Lilo, your parents, who are educators, and successful in their own right. So were you inspired because they were born leaders or this is something that you truly wanted to do for yourself? Like you, Auntie, I'm OK at talking. And so you find your niche. And so for me, it's in the practice of law and in educating. Because I didn't grow up with a family of lawyers. I'd never been to court prior to my second year of law school. Like a lot of folks that are here who end up in law school who go to the very excellent William S. Richardson School of Law, where I was educated, prior to that I went to UCLA. We just didn't see faces that look like our own or family members that look like our own on the walls or in the books. And it didn't make a lot of sense to me. And it doesn't make a lot of sense to us when we find ourselves in those positions, especially as young people who try to pursue educations in career paths that essentially weren't designed for us. But that doesn't matter. You got to try and make change. What I'm really inspired by is the work of people that came before me just 20 or 30 years ago who do critical race theory, critical theory is what we call it in the law, which is saying, well, since our ancestors aren't really reflected in the law, we didn't write these rules. But we're here now. So what do we do about it? And where do we take inspiration? We take inspiration from our own culture, from our own communities, and from our own narratives. So that's what I try to do as a writer I try to. And I think that you try to do as a person on the radio and as a person on here in think tech Hawaii is honor the dignity of people's stories and turn those stories and narratives into a broader discussion of what it means to dignify a community. Exactly what I want to do is I want our voices not to be suppressed, but to be heard no matter how small or insignificant it may be. We still have a voice and we need to learn to stand up and speak up for what you believe in. There's a saying, Sani, that if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for just anything. So it's really, really good to really stand up. Take a stand. You know what? I mean, I think Malcolm X said it, but a lot of people said it before him and a lot of people are going to say it after him. I just lost an election. It was heartbreaking. But I am, I feel... And he was so close. Yeah, but I feel empowered by the community and by the support that I've gotten from people around me. I don't feel like a victim. I don't feel like somebody who is capable of taking a loss and who's got to come back and I keep playing the game. So I want to thank you for being here and for allowing me to continue to talk about how to do community empowerment work. Yes, you'll have a lot of chance to do that. It's still young and you've got a lot of time left. Anyway, we will come back with our discussion. We're going to take a quick break here on Pinai Power Hawaii with our guest, Asani Granaden. Konnichiwa, Hawaii. Kakushu no Gettyoubi. Niijikara. Sehimi na sa mite kudasai. Post no Kunisei Yukari deshita. Aloha. I'm Jay Fiedel. ThinkTech. ThinkTech loves energy. I'm the host of Mina, Marco and Me, which is Mina Morita, former chair of the PUC, former legislator, and Energy Dynamics, a consulting organization in energy. Marco Mangelsdorf is the CEO of Provision Solar in Hilo. Every two weeks, we talk about energy, everything about energy. Come around and watch us. We're on at noon on Mondays, every two weeks on ThinkTech. Aloha. We want to welcome you back to our conversation with a very young, knowledgeable, powerful gentleman. He's an attorney by trade and also a writer, a great communicator. And I'm proud to say that he is an extended part of our Ortega family who hails from San Fernando, La Union. So with us, attorney Sunny Ganaden, they might mispronounce your last name. I'm okay with the mispronunciation. A lot of people take offense with that, but I suppose that I'm Filipino-American, right? Yes. Ganaden. Ganaden, right? So from what I understand, the name actually is part of our Catholic heritage. So it's two words combined. So Ganaden is Garden of Eden. There's two ways to look at that. There's kind of the critical, cynical way, which is saying that, you know, like, who are my people? Who is my family? Like, what did we lose in colonization? What did we lose from the Spanish coming to the Philippines? But the way I look at it is this is the name of my grandparents and my parents. And it's an honor to carry on our legacy. Either way you look at it, it means power. Well, so words are as important as you make them. Okay. We're going to continue our conversation. And I know that criminal law or criminal defense is closest to your heart. And why did you, Anang Arason, what was the reason why you went that route rather than going into business law or any other field? It just feels right to root for the underdog, to try and take care of the people that are facing the biggest struggles. So that's the kind of thing that I grew up seeing from my Lola and my aunties who are nurses or my mom was a teacher. So it just felt right to show up in court and advocate for victims of domestic violence or kids who are facing the wrath of criminal justice. What a lot of us lawyers notice is who shows up in criminal court. And it's a lot of people of color. It's a lot of the Filipino communities, Indigenous people, a lot of Hawaiians here. And it's just not fair if we look at the statistics. And it's in 2018 we know how to make a better criminal justice system that is more equitable, that saves the community money. And it's about time that we did that. So in Kalihi, there is 16 acres that is taken up by the Oahu Community Correctional Center. There's a tentative plan to move the Correctional Center. However, there have been 25 states that have gone the other way. So what they're doing is making smaller prisons and jails because they realize that half the people in prison, they're just too poor to get out. So California just last week passed bail reform. So the way we think about bail is if you just get thrown in for a DUI or for any kind of thing, then you've got to make your bail. But what we're learning in the United States and around the world is that that's not the way to think about it. The way to think about it is judges need to figure out if somebody is a danger to themselves or others or is going to try and leave. So only two factors. And then when you take care of that, then you can save a lot of money. You might be able to save $65 million a year just by clearing out the prisons. And we can move that money back into services, back into kids, back into education. And these are political decisions. These are the kinds of decisions that we need our politicians to be brave about. Nobody wants to say that they're pushing for bad people to get out scot-free. That's not what we're asking for. What we're saying is we need to be smart about justice in the future. And then when we do that, then we can rethink what that 16 acres in OCCC is going to be. We can really work on what some people call systemic racism built into criminal justice. There are examples of historical figures that were imprisoned inappropriately here in Hawaii, in the Philippines, in our religions. And so we, I think, need to be more empathetic and more thoughtful about how we are spending our resources in criminal justice. Some of them are in prison because they spoke up. They spoke up. And that's some of them. And then other people here in Honolulu, they're in prison because they weren't getting the kind of mental health services that they need. They were sitting or lying down on the sidewalk. Their stuff was taken. The scariest thing for me is how some mental health conditions are adult onset. So I'm in my 30s. And I mean, it would scare the heck out of me and my family if I came down with something or somebody I knew came down with something and then, you know, you burn out your family and you end up on the street. And then you end up in criminal court. That's not fair. We don't want to live in that kind of a society. And it turns out it costs us way too much money. And we should be putting that money back in the kids and education in the future. You've been putting a lot of thoughts in this, right? Because it does make sense. Sometimes we put that blanket assumption that they should all go to jail because they've done something wrong. But I agree with you. It makes sense when we need to screen them or categorize them so that they don't just end up rotting in jail. But perhaps they need medical attention to better or sharpen their mind rather than spending society's money to just kind of be caretakers for them when they can be more, they could contribute to society. A lot of the Filipino community is real law and order. And I think I am too. If you take a walk around parts of Cali, you see gambling rooms. And sometimes people on the street. And your first inclination is to call the cops. And that's usually what you got to do. But you need to realize that these are systemic problems. That if we had our money in different places, you wouldn't see those things. Right, it's prevention. Yeah, this is preventative stuff. And that we deserve to live in a community where our politicians put the money where the money should go. So this is going to be a tough, moral fight for the next probably 10 years here in Hawaii. And it's hard to take, especially when you're talking about victims. So I represent victims of domestic violence in court, in a family court. And I've been to hell and back and I've seen it. And it's just terrifying, some of that stuff. But we're going to have to be brave about changing the system to make it fairer and more equitable for everybody and safer for the entire community. Wow, really, really appreciate a conversation about bringing awareness. Having the fair or right representation for people that can't speak for themselves or are too afraid to come out or to leave because they feel like their life is in danger, always being bullied. That's the big, big word. You're bullied at home. You're bullied in school. And then you're bullied in your marriage life. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the community is being more educated about cycles of violence and how to get out of them. And our education system is getting a little bit smarter about teaching kids, especially about how to be in healthy relationships. If you are accused of a crime in Hawaii or in the United States and you automatically get a lawyer, but if you need to say, remove yourself from an abusive relationship, you don't. Or if you need to fight to get your kids back, you don't get a lawyer. I think that's unfair. So there are nonprofits like the Domestic Violence Action Center, Legal Aid, Society of Hawaii. There's a really active group of Filipino lawyers here in the community that really try to serve the community pro bono for free. And I do that work as well. And it's hard, heartbreaking work. But you know, you try to make the world a little bit better in one case at a time. Wonderful. It fits right in our topic today. It's called to serve. You find that that's your calling to represent the underrepresented, to give them a voice, to give them that fighting chance. What is it, Sunny, that you would like to leave as a legacy? So that when they hear your name, Sunny Ganaden, the Garden of Eden. Oh, god. I'm doing my best. But like a lot of people in this community, they're doing their best to try and serve the community and do it with joy and do it with a sense of community. I like your laid back style. You know, people look at you. Well, this is fun. So really, here we are chatting. And we're talking about trying to make the world a better place. But could you imagine not doing this? I couldn't. You know, like here we are talking about tough issues. But I was taught to do it with a smile on your face and with joy in your heart. And that's what I'd try to do. That is music to my ear, grace under fire. And I really enjoy having a conversation with you. Oh, ma'am. You put me at ease. When we talk about lawyers, a lot of people feel intimidated or they have so much knowledge that they're just going to look at you like a tiny ant and not be able to say anything in return. That's not what the job is. The job is to advocate for other people and to put their needs above your own. And I think that's how it is in politics and public service. And if you don't want to do that, well, then there's a lot of other jobs for you. But if you can do this and still have time for me to go surf and hang out with loved ones and enjoy your life, then this is where the party is at. That is so awesome to hear you doing what you're passionate about, really enjoy it, and also trying your best to make a difference or bringing awareness. Well, you are too. And I think most of our viewers are as well. There's going to be a big fight about changing criminal justice in the future and about, I think, serving the Filipino community in terms of infrastructure and where the actual Filipinos live. We need to start really talking about how Kalihi is underwater, how parts of public education need a lot of help in the future. And I think that we can save a lot of money by getting some governmental oversight, by saving money on criminal justice reform. And then we can do those big changes. But we have to be brave and we have to do it with some joy. I'm glad you're starting up a movement. And for somebody your age to have this awareness, to have this knowledge, to have this charisma. You're so kind to me. Thank you so much. Well, I like listening to you because you make a lot of sense. Oh, this is just the job. So I'd like to see more people like you to help us with the empowerment and to do it with such style that you can feel at ease, get the job done, and yet not feel pressured in any way. We also live in paradise. This is the most beautiful place on the planet. So you can put in a hard day and still have to be. At the end of the day? At the end of the day, we live in a wonderful place with the best food in the world. So we have a lot to be thankful for. But we still live in a world that is very inequitable and very inequitable for the Filipino community. And we're going to continue to do some work for it. Well, Sunny, I join you in that quest to make this a little bit of heaven and earth while we are here, anyway. I want to thank you for being my guest today. You opened up my eyes and awakened me to do more, to change for something positive. So thank you for being our guest and think Hawaii, our show, Pinoy Power Hawaii, can be heard live every Tuesday at 12 noon. So if there are more issues that you would like to talk about, you are welcome to come to our show or perhaps help me get the word out and join me in writing the word. So thank you to my wonderful, he's full of character, knowledge. I look up to him because he has the knowledge. Thank you, Sunny, for coming to our show today to help us with the empowerment. We aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain, and we hope to empower. Maraming salamat, mabuhay, and aloha. Maraming salamat, aloha.