HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL IN LOS ANGELES

           

           The Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles was established in March 1947 as an extension office of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.  It was headed by Vice Consul Marcelo T. Boncan, a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives and Superior Court Judge.  He served as Vice Consul, and subsequently as Consul, until his death in July 1948. 

 

Consul Boncan was succeeded by Consul Sofronio V. Abrera, a wartime guerilla leader and former Philippine Assembly member who was previously assigned as trade assistant of the Philippine Consulate General in New York.  Mr. Abrera was a Consul in Los Angeles until his assignment as Philippine Consul General in Chicago in 1954.

 

            In October 1955, during the term of Consul General PEDRO G. RAMIREZ, the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles was elevated to a Consulate General by then President Ramon Magsaysay.   The Philippines was the seventeenth Consulate to elevate the status of its mission in Los Angeles, after Great Britain, Japan, Canada, France, China, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Costa Rica. 

 

            The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles is presently headed by its first female Consul General, Hon. Mary Jo A. Bernardo Aragon.

 

            Below is a complete list of Philippine Consuls General in Los Angeles since 1954:

 

Head of Post	Year
HON. PEDRO G. RAMIREZ	1954-1962
HON. ALEJANDRO F. HOLIGORES	1962-1967
HON. CARLOS A. FAUSTINO	1967-1970
HON. PACIFICO G. EVANGELISTA	1970-1976
HON. ARMANDO C. FERNANDEZ	Jul 1977- May 1985
HON. LEOVIGILDO A. ANOLIN	Jul 1985- Nov 1988
HON. LEONIDES T. CADAY	Dec 1988 – Jan 1990
HON. VICTOR D.G. GARCIA III	May 1990 – Jul 1993
HON. EMMANUEL C. FERNANDEZ	Aug 1994 – June 1995
HON. JOSUE L. VILLA	Aug 1995 – Aug 2000
HON. EDWIN D. BAEL	Aug 2000 – Mar 2002
HON. MARCIANO A. PAYNOR, JR.	Sep 2002 – Jan 2006
HON. WILLY C. GAA	Jan 2006 – Jul 2006
HON. MARY JO A. BERNARDO ARAGON	Feb 2007 – present

 

Since 1947, the Philippine Consulate General has had several locations in Los Angeles:

 

Year	Location
1947-1952	355 South Broadway Ave., Los Angeles
1953-1967	448 South Hill St., Los Angeles
1967-1974	3075 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90005
1975-1987	3250 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90010
1987-1995	3460 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90010
1995-2003	3660 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90010
2003-Present	3600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500, Los Angeles 90010