FILIPINO DIASPORA SUMMIT 2026
Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Manila Marriott Hotel, June 16, 2026
Ocean of dreams.
Larry Asera returned to Manila this June as one of six featured panelists at the 2026 Filipino Diaspora Summit, convened by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas and moderated by Attorney Karen Jimeno. Speaking on the panel titled Amplifying Voices: Diaspora Advocacy and Policy Influence, Larry took the audience on what he called a ride across the ocean of dreams, tracing three generations of the Asera family's journey from the sugar cane fields of Hawaii in 1906, through the migrant farm labor camps of California, to his own election in 1973 as the first Filipino American ever elected to public office on the United States mainland.
Larry closed with a challenge to the next generation of the diaspora. The Philippines cannot depend on foreign oil. The country needs energy security, and energy security requires energy independence. That is the mission that brought him back, and it is the work e-BESS Power Tech and EV Mobility Ventures are building now.
Asked what emerging global issues the diaspora should prioritize, Larry answered:
"I'm encouraging your next generation children to adopt technology as their background. You need to bring that technology back to the Philippines to make this country energy independent. They need to learn about clean energy and solar and wind. This country needs energy security. They cannot depend on foreign oil."
The Diaspora Summit was hosted by Commission on Filipinos Overseas Chairperson Dante Klink Ang II and included panelists from Hawaii, Guam, Europe, and Australia representing Filipino leadership across four continents.
BRIDGES ON AIR
Presidential Broadcast Service, Radyo Pilipinas World Service, Commission on Filipinos Overseas
The founder returns.
In a wide-ranging interview on Bridges On Air, the Philippine government's flagship diaspora broadcast, Asera Group founder Larry Asera spoke with hosts Ray Sampang and Ares Gutierrez about the technology, the mission, and the family legacy behind the company's return to the Philippines. The conversation covered the manganese oxide chemistry that distinguishes e-BESS from conventional lithium ion batteries, the plan to relocate the battery manufacturing facility to a special economic zone adjacent to UP Diliman, and Larry's commitment to making the Philippines energy independent.
Asked what he would say to the grandparents who told him as an eight-year-old boy that he would one day return to help the Philippines, Larry answered:
"Lola, what you said is happening. I was blessed by you and my parents to get the right education. I'm going to help realize your dream and bring it back to the Philippines. I hope that what I'm doing here will leave a legacy on your behalf."
The interview aired as part of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas recognition of Larry Asera as a 2006 Pamana ng Pilipino awardee.