CFO Ugnayan sa Hawaii Engages FilCom Orgs, Students, Young Professionals

Commission on Filipinos Overseas Secretary Francisco P. Acosta (front row, center) with Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno (front row, fourth from left), Madame Araceli Jimeno (front row, third from left), officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate, (CFO) officials, Filipino Community Leaders and CFO Presidential Awardees in Hawaii. (Honolulu PCG photo)

HONOLULU 07 November 2019 — As part of its Ugnayan sa Hawaii program, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Secretary Francisco P. Acosta and his delegation held community engagements for Filipinos, as organized by the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, from 20 to 27 October 2019.

On 21 October 2019, Secretary Acosta met with around 18 Filipino Community leaders, former CFO Presidential Awardees, and several Presidential awardees. 

“There is no substitute for Filipinos themselves in helping their fellow Filipinos,” Secretary Acosta said. Highlighting the role of Filipino organizations as the primary support of other migrants, he said that the CFO is continuously looking for ways to empower, strengthen, and support Filipino organizations overseas. He then expressed the hope that the next round of awards in 2020 will see more awardees from Hawaii.

He also thanked Filipinos in Hawaii for their contributions to the CFO’s Linkapil or Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino program, which provides a means for the transfer of various forms of resources from overseas Filipinos to support small scale, high impact projects to address Philippine’s social and economic development needs. Based on CFO data, contributions from Hawaii amount to Php 60 million, of which most have been for health-related initiatives and medical missions. 

Secretary Acosta on 24 October 2019 engaged with Filipino and Filipino-American students at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The event was organized in collaboration with the University of Hawaii-Manoa Center for Philippine Studies. On the same day, a Kapihan with Filipino Young Professionals in Hawaii was conducted at the Philippine Consulate General. On both occasions, Secretary Acosta’s encouraged the youth, particularly the second and third generation of Filipinos to their roots, to rediscover their identities as Filipinos, and to contribute to strengthening the linkages between the Philippines and Hawaii. 

During all the engagements, Secretary Acosta stressed the importance of overseas Filipinos in disseminating the Philippine government’s advocacies and the positive developments in the Philippines. He said that President Duterte has recognized their contributions to the Philippines’ development story and echoed the latter’s call for unity and inclusivity by quoting what the President said “Walang iwanan. Lahat sama-sama.”  END

Secretary Francisco P. Acosta gives his remarks during the Filipino Community Meeting. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Ms. Janet B. Ramos during the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) presentation. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Secretary Francisco P. Acosta (third from right) with Deputy Consul General Angelica C. Escalona (front row, third from right), Consul Grace Anne G. Bulos, CFO officials, Director for Center Philippine Studies (CPS) UH Manoa Dr. Pia Arboleda (standing, second from right), Educational Specialist CPS UH Manoa Clemen Montero (standing, third from right) and the Filipino-American students of the University of Hawaii-Manoa. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Director Arboleda welcomes Secretary Acosta and the CFO officials. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Secretary Acosta briefs the Fil-Am students on CFO programs for the youth. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Secretary Francisco P. Acosta (front row, fifth from right) with Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno (front row, fifth from left), officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate, CFO officials, and the Filipino Young Professionals in Hawaii. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Secretary Francisco P. Acosta giving his remarks at the Kapihan with the  Filipino Young Professionals in Hawaii. (Honolulu PCG photo)

Mr. Warner A. Dawal during the CFO presentation. (Honolulu PCG photo)

For more information, visit  https://www.honolulupcg.dfa.gov.ph,   https://www.philippineshonolulu.org  or https://www.facebook.com/PHinHonolulu/.