******Today, the Manila Mail can boasts of being the only professionally-edited newspaper in the mid-Atlantic region; the only publication that is being run by an all-volunteer editorial and business staff; the only newspaper that has never missed a deadline or an issue (unlike most fly-by-night) ‘newspapers’; and is increasingly becoming the only credible voice of the Filipino American community in the capital of the greatest nation on earth.

******But enough of the boasts. As we mark the start of our sixteenth year of uninterrupted publication, we leave it to our growing readership to judge whether we have or have tried our best to fulfill our dream of having an  objective, fair, impartial, independent publication that is beholden to no one, except the community that it serves.

******As a community publication, the Manila Mail has metamorphosed from an initially angry mouthpiece of the editorial staff who wanted to change the world, to a more tame, responsible,  and positive voice that truly represents the Filipino American community. The newspaper has since served as a bridge between the Filipinos in the US and the Filipinos in the home country, a link with the hundreds of organizations in the area and a medium for advertisers wanting to reach out to the community.

******The dream of the founders to have a newspaper that will become the voice of the Filipino American community in the Washington D.C. area is about to become a reality; a voice that will be listened to by the leaders in the community and those in the corridors of power in Washington D.C.

******Sweet sixteen and never ... missed an issue.