10 April 2014 - The Philippine Consulate General joined the Filipino American community in Wapato, Washington as they celebrated the 62nd Anniversary of the historic Filipino Community Hall held on March 22. The Filipino Hall, located at 211 West 2nd Street in Wapato, is considered as the first such hall built “from the ground up” by Filipino American historians. It was dedicated in honor of the youth in March of 1952.
The event, attended by Washington State Senator Jim Honeyford and State Representative Bruce Chandler, also witnessed the installation of the officers and board members of the Filipino-American Community of Yakima Valley-Inc. (FACYV), who took their oath of office before Philippine Consul Leah Victoria Rodriguez.
It was also during the occasion that FACYV President Rey Pascua announced the signing by the Washington State of a Proclamation designating October 2014 as Filipino American History Month. Washington State is the third such state after California and Hawaii to dedicate the month to the Filipino American community.
During her keynote remarks, Consul Rodriguez updated the community on the positive developments in the Philippines and encouraged kababayans to be actively involved in the political, economic, social affairs of their environs, both in the US and the Philippines. She also informed them of the upcoming overseas voter registration which will start on May 2014.
The next day, consular services were provided to residents from the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. A total of 189 consular services were rendered during the outreach activity.
This was the first consular outreach activity conducted in Wapato since 2006. Wapato, a city in Yakima County, has approximately 1,700 Filipino residents. Wapato’s primary industries are farming and ranching.
The Consulate General extends its appreciation to FACYV for the warm hospitality given to the consular team and for providing the logistical support for the consular outreach activity.
In addition to Consul Rodriguez, the consular team was composed of Mr. Jaime Bilar, Mr. Juancho Rillo, Ms. Herminigilda Cariño, Ms. Jessele San Jose, Ms. Elisea Sarion and Mr. Ramon Lopez.
The Consulate General conducts outreach activities during the year to reach out to all its kababayans in the ten states under its jurisdiction. For the full list of the schedule, please visit http://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org/philippines-sf/consular-outreach-sf (type www.philippinessanfrancisco.org, scroll down then click “Schedule of Consular Outreach” at the right corner.) END