PH Consulate General in LA Holds Historic Celebration of Philippine Independence Day in Historic Filipinotown

Elected Filipino-American officials presenting the Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Edgar B. Badajos (third from left) with Certificates of Resolutions commemorating Philippine Independence. (Los Angeles PCG photo)

LOS ANGELES 29 June 2023 – With horns blazing and nationalistic music playing in the background, Filipinos and Filipino-Americans from Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Arizona, garbed in colorful national attire, flocked to LA’s Historic Filipinotown (HiFi) in the morning of Sunday, 25 June 2023, to participate in what is possibly the biggest and most festive celebration of Philippine Independence Day seen in Southern California to date. 

The celebration was historic because it is the first time that the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, since its establishment in 1947, celebrated the annual commemoration of Philippine Independence Day in Los Angeles’s Historic Filipinotown. The neighborhood is regarded as the birthplace of the Filipino diaspora in Los Angeles. The celebration itself was historic because it consisted of not just the traditional diplomatic reception (this was held in the evening inside the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles [FACLA] compound), but also a motorcade in the morning which saw over 400 cars participating (according to police estimates) and a festival later in the day.  

The motorcade moved through Historic Filipinotown, including a pass through the newly installed Filipinotown Archway also known as the “Talang Gabay” at the eastern entrance into the neighborhood. 

The Festival attracted hundreds of members of around 35 Fil-am Filipino-American community organizations from all over southern California, southern Nevada and Arizona.  Several Fil-Am elected and appointed officials attended the festival. Among them were the first Fil-am to be elected City Comptroller Mr. Kenneth Mejia, and Ms. Susana Reyes who was appointed by the LA City Council to the Public Works Board of Commissioners in April 2022. Councilmember Hugo Soto Martinez of LA’s District 6 where Historic Filipinotown is located also attended. Various Filipino talents, including Filipino movie icon Mr. Gabby Concepcion as special guest, provided the entertainment. 

The diplomatic reception in the evening welcomed over 200 guests, including representatives from the Office of Foreign Missions-Los Angeles, members of the LA Consular Corps, Fil-Am local officials, and FilCom organization leaders and members.  One of the highlights of the reception was a fashion show featuring Filipiniana wear created by Fil-am designer Mr. Amiel Noble. 

The well-attended celebration was a heart-stopping and record-breaking display of unity and strength by the Filipino-American community in Los Angeles and beyond.

The Consulate organized the celebration in collaboration with the Filipino-American Community in Los Angeles (FACLA), the Philippine Independence Day Foundation (PIDF), Kalayaan, Inc., the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), the National Federation of Filipino American Associations in Greater Los Angeles Region (NaFFAA-GLA), Usapan, the National Diversity Coalition (NDC) and the Historic Filipinotown Council. The occasion was also supported by one of the stalwart members of the Filipino-American community, Dame Grace Mercado-Ouano, D.S.G., who was also the motorcade Grand Marshal. 

Throughout the various events commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Philippine Independence in Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Arizona, LA Consul General Edgar Badajos reminded the Filipino diaspora that “The task of nation-building is a never-ending process.” He encouraged them to continue doing their fair share in nation-building “to ensure that our hard-fought rights and freedoms will endure.” END

(Left photo) Ms. Ruby Rodriguez and Vice Consul Levi Anthony Malaylay acknowledge the vehicles passing by the HiFi Eastern Gateway. (Upper right photo) Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Edgar B. Badajos (left) rides in a tricycle during the motorcade. (Lower right photo) PID25 Grand Marshal, Dame Grace Mercado-Ouano, D.S.G., gears up for the parade. (Los Angeles PCG photo)

(Top photo) Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Edgar B. Badajos delivers his keynote speech during the 125th Philippine Day Gala. (Bottom photo) The Philippine Consulate General’s officers, staff and representatives of various Philippine government agencies. (Los Angeles PCG photo)

For more information, visit https://www.philippineconsulatela.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinLA/.