The Hawai‘i term of Philippine Consul General Emil T. Fernandez officially ended on August 16, 2024, and the next day, he departed for the Philippines.
“My term as Consul General seemed to have flown by so fast,” says Fernandez. “I take this as a sign that we, at the Consulate, were always busy, preoccupied, and productive.”
Fernandez arrived in Honolulu from Frankfurt, Germany on November 18, 2021, during the pandemic. “I arrived towards the tail-end of the worst of the pandemic,” recalls Fernandez. His first order of business was to meet with the officers and staff of the Consulate to be apprised of pending issues, projects and well as his priority programs. “It was certainly a challenge, as several meetings were still being held online and in-person activities still had to be put off,” Fernandez explains. “Understandably, the health and well-being of both consular applicants and frontline staff of the Consulate had to be prioritized. Hence, an appointment process was put in place to ensure that not many would congregate at any one time.”
After the pandemic subsided, Fernandez felt freer to travel to the islands of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, and Maui. On March 5, 2023, Fernandez made his first trip to Maui to attend Binhi at Ani’s Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament and to be the guest of honor that evening at a community reception hosted by Binhi at Ani. “We were grateful to coordinate and with our community partners, host the Consul General,” says Melen Magbual, who served as president of Binhi at Ani at that time.
Five months later, however, Lahaina was ravaged by fire. Fernandez led the Philippine Consulate staff in its response on behalf of the Philippine government. “The immediate role of the Consulate was to attend to Filipino victims of the wildfires and ensure their well-being,” says Fernandez.
“The wildfires that ravaged parts of Maui was unlike any other incident the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu had experienced, as far as the provision of assistance-to-nationals services is concerned,” says Fernandez. “A total of five visits to Maui were made by a team of Consulate personnel from August to December 2023. It required coordination with local authorities. The conditions of Filipinos in Lahaina were ascertained. And, consular services, such as the replacement of lost passports and repatriation of remains, were rendered to those affected by the disaster.”
Fernandez expressed his gratitude to those in Maui’s Filipino community who provided assistance. “We are grateful to friends in the Filipino American community, such as the Binhi at Ani Filipino Community Center, Melen Agcolicol, Atty. Fred Evangelista and Tante Urban, for their generosity and selfless support for casualties of the disaster.”
Fernandez was able to convince the Philippine government to provide funds for the Philippine citizens residing in Lahaina. “Three hundred twenty-one thousand and six hundred U.S. dollars was the total expenses and the amount of financial aid in US dollars distributed to qualified Filipinos in Lahaina, including the Philippine government’s donation to the Maui Strong Fund,” Fernandez reports.
Fernandez observed there are always challenges with a foreign services post. “Any Foreign Service post in the U.S. is challenging, mainly due to sheer size of their constituents—over four million Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the country.”
The Hawai‘i post, is often seen as the gateway to the mainland, and due to the substantial percentage of Filipino residents, there are many Philippine elected officials who came under Fernandez’ jurisdiction when they traveled to Hawai‘i.
During Fernandez’ tenure, he says “We were fortunate to receive several distinguished public officials in Hawai‘i the past couple of years.” Indeed, three members of the Marcos family traveled to Hawai‘i.
Fernandez recalled “President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s historic trip last November, who met with members of the Filipino community at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, the top brass of USINDOPACOM, as well as a speaking engagement at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, where he laid out his foreign policy priorities.”
A month earlier, Fernandez notes, “Senator Imee Marcos was here as well, accompanied by officials from Ilocos Norte. A festive gathering was held at Blaisdell Park in Pearl City, involving the various Ilokano groups.” Senator Marcos made a brief stop on Maui to meet with a representative group of Lahaina fire survivors and she was accompanied by Fernandez and more than a dozen Mayors from the Province of Ilocos Norte.
In March 2024, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc, who Fernandez described as “a dynamic young leader” led an economic roadshow to drum up investments for the Province of Ilocos Norte.
Despite a rather short (less than three years) tenure as the Consul General in Hawai‘i, Fernandez’s accomplishments are quite extensive. In addition to dealing with the pandemic, the Lahaina fire, and hosting three Marcos’ and other officials, Fernandez says “Three years later, long waiting times for consular appointments were addressed, economic interest among Hawai‘i businessmen are at an all-time high, and relations in the political sphere have never been better, among other accomplishments.”
Luckily, Fernandez and his wife “still managed to find some time (to see) the state’s beautiful islands and experience its amazing culture,” he says.
As part of his transition, Fernandez had farewell calls on state and city government officials, USINDOPACOM commanders, and key leaders in the private sector and Filipino American community. He has formally turned over his duties and responsibilities to the Acting Head of Post, who is the second highest-ranking officer in the Consulate, pending the arrival of his successor.
“I will be at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, where I have been designated as Assistant Secretary in charge of the Department Legislative Liaison Unit (DLLU),” Fernandez reports. “DLLU oversees the Department’s relations with the Philippines’ federal senators and congressmen. I will be in Manila for approximately three years, before departing for my next foreign assignment.”
Fernandez is well equipped to return to Manila as Assistant Secretary, having held several important positions, including Executive Director of the Office of Asian & Pacific Affairs (2016–2018), Director for Southern Europe of the Office of European Affairs (2009–2010), Special Assistant to the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations (2008–2009) and Acting Director of the Office of ASEAN Affairs (1999–2001).
With Fernandez’s professionalism and ability to ably serve the Philippine government’s interest, some may be surprised Hawai‘i was his first post to lead. His other foreign assignments included Washington, D.C. (2010–2016), Santiago, Chile (2005–2008) and Caracas, Venezuela (2002–2005).
“Hawai‘i, including Maui, will always occupy a special place in my heart, as it is my first stint as head of a Foreign Service post,” Fernandez proclaims. “In my previous assignments, I served as one of the officers in the embassies. Particularly noteworthy is how people are more laid back and how they treat others as ‘ohana. I will miss the amazing scenery and the people’s Aloha spirit, as manifested in their warmth, friendliness, and hospitality.”
As we await the arrival of the next Consul General, we bid Consul General Emil T. Fernandez a fond Aloha and Mabuhay and wish him well. Agbiag!
Assistant Editor Alfredo G. Evangelista is a graduate of Maui High School (1976), the University of Southern California (1980), and the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law (1983). He is a sole practitioner at Law Offices of Alfredo Evangelista, A Limited Liability Law Company, concentrating in estate planning, business start-up and consultation and nonprofit corporations. He has been practicing law for 40 years (since 1983) and returned home in 2010 to be with his family and to marry his high school sweetheart, the former Basilia Tumacder Idica.