Marcos meets Pacific Century Fellows to strengthen PH-Hawaii ties

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with delegations from the Pacific Century Fellows (PCF) of Hawaii to discuss ways to further strengthen the relationship between the Philippines and Hawaii in tourism.

Marcos welcomed the PCF, led by its founder and former Honolulu City Mayor Mufi Hannemann, at Malacañan Palace on Wednesday.

“It is always a pleasure for me to welcome our friends from Hawaii, especially when the purpose of your visit is to continue to find ways to interact even more closely with the Philippines considering, of course, that the Filipino population in Hawaii is a significant one,” Marcos said during their meeting, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office in a statement.

READ: Marcos says he’s ‘number one supporter’ of Filipino-Hawaiians 

“So, thank you for making time to visit with me. And I hope we will have a fruitful discussion where we can explore what we can do to further what already are close relations between not just the United States but specifically Hawaii and the Philippines,” he added.

There are approximately 380,000 Filipinos in Hawaii as of 2020.

For his part, Hannemann said he was looking forward to working with the government, particularly with Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.

“And I just wanted to say that there are many opportunities for us to work together. And it’s not just because I wear a tourism hat but I really would like to see how we can work with Secretary Garcia-Frasco to see how we can increase tourism both of Philippines to Hawaii and Hawaii to the Philippines,” Hannemann told Marcos.

READ: Marcos waxes nostalgic in Hawaii

“I think there are major opportunities that exist to do that. We know United Airlines has increased the air service here but I think [there’s] an opportunity for Alaska Airlines to rejuvenate what Hawaiian Airlines used to do. So, we see many beneficial opportunities there. So, we’re just here today to again express our gratitude and appreciation to you,” he added.

The PCF is a group of established and emerging leaders in Hawaii. They are in the Philippines to conduct various humanitarian activities as well as to strengthen relationships with different sectors by learning the country’s agriculture, economic, and tourism industries, among others.