15 October 2015 – It’s official in the State of New York: October is Filipino-American History Month. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a Proclamation issued by the State of New York Executive Chamber, turned over by Director David Turley of the Office of Constituent Affairs in a simple ceremony to the Filipino community leaders, headed by Philippine Consul General to New York Mario De Leon, Jr. at the Governor’s Manhattan office last October 09.

According to Director Turley, this is the first proclamation that Governor Cuomo has handed to the Filipino-American community. The Proclamation recognizes that Filipinos have been in the continental United States as early as 18 October 1587, as it was on this date that the first “Luzones Indios” set foot in Morro Bay, California aboard the galleon ship Nuestra Señora de Esperanza. The proclamation acknowledges the economic, cultural and social foundation of the New York State and the whole nation since their permanent settlement in Louisiana in 1763. 

Consul General De Leon expressed his delight in this development and said, “The Filipinos have truly arrived. This proclamation only uplifts our presence in the Northeast and in the one of the foremost states of the U.S. Our aim as a community is to further raise the influence of Filipinos in mainstream American society.”

According to the 2013 U.S. census, there was an estimated over 120,000 single- and multi-racial Filipino Americans living in the State of New York. END