Key Dates in Filipino History in Hawai’i
September 29, 2006
Dec. 20, 1906
The first group of 15 Filipino contract laborers (sakadas) recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association (HSPA) are assigned to the Olaa plantation. In the next 20 years, the HSPA recruits over 125,000 Filipino sakadas to work in Hawai‘i.
1919
Filipino labor leader Pablo Manlapit organizes the Filipino Labor Union to demand higher wages and better working conditions for sakadas.
1920
Manlapit and Japanese labor leaders form the Higher Wages Movement, but HSPA rejects their demands. Filipino and Japanese workers strike separately and about 12,100 workers are evicted.
1924
In the course of a strike called by Manlapit, 16 Filipino workers and four policemen are killed in Hanapepe, Kauai, leading to arrest of Manlapit.
1934
The Tydings-McDuffie Philippine Independence Act, also known as the Filipino Exclusion Act, declares Filipinos to be aliens and limits their entry to Hawai‘i and the U.S. to an annual quota of 50 persons.
1941
Filipino Americans form the 1st and 2nd Filipino Regiments of the U.S. Army in WWII.
1946
ILWU calls strike that paralyzes the island economy.
1947
Philippine Consulate is established in Honolulu.
1951
Filipino workers on Lanai led by ILWU business agent Pedro de la Cruz call a strike lasting 201 days. Major work benefits are won.
1954
Attorney Peter Aduja becomes the first Filipino to be elected a representative in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature.
1965
Immigration Law is liberalized. Results in the third wave of Filipino immigrants to Hawai‘i, increasing the number of Filipinos to nearly 11 percent of the total state population.
1972
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law in the Philippines, which lasts 14 years and divides the Hawai‘i-Filipino community.
1974
Benjamin Menor is appointed justice of Hawaii Supreme Court, the first Filipino to hold that position in any state Supreme Court.
1986
The Marcos dictatorship topples, forcing Marcos to be exiled in Hawai‘i.
1987
Daniel Kihano is elected House Speaker of the state Legislature, the first Filipino American to occupy the position.
1994
Benjamin J. Cayetano is elected as governor, the first Filipino American to occupy the highest state office.
2001
Robert Bunda is elected Senate president in the state Legislature, the first Filipino American to fill the position. Angela Perez Baraquio, daughter of Filipino immigrants, becomes first Asian American to win the Miss America title.
2006
The 4th Global Filipino Networking Convention, hosted by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, is held in Honolulu to mark the centennial of Filipinos in Hawai‘i.
Prepared by Belinda Aquino and Rodel Rodis.
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