PRESS RELEASE NO. 26-2021

Deputy Consul General Angelica C. Escalona and Ms. Emme Tomimbang (center) discuss efforts to encourage the Filipino community to obtain COVID-19 vaccination. Also present at the meeting are Consul Grace Anne G. Bulos (left) and Ms. Carmen Hernandez (right).

24 June 2021, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA – The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, represented by Deputy Consul General Angelica C. Escalona and Consul Grace Anne G. Bulos, met with Hawaii veteran broadcast journalist, Ms. Emme Tomimbang, to discuss how to drum up efforts to further encourage Filipinos in Hawaii to get COVID-19 vaccinations.

According to Ms. Tomimbang, only 40 percent of Filipinos in Hawaii have been vaccinated, and despite the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for all individuals ages 12 and up, a number of Filipinos in Hawaii have yet to be inoculated.

Given this scenario, Ms. Tomimbang, with support from The Queen’s Health System and AARP Hawaii, produced a Public Service Announcement (PSA) in three different dialects: Ilocano, Tagalog, and Visayan, which aired on State mainstream television and radio stations.

Deputy Consul General Escalona welcomed this remarkable initiative and expressed the Consulate’s full support to efforts of individuals and the Filipino/Filipino-American community in COVID-19 vaccination outreach and education, which complements the Philippine Consulate’s call for Filipinos in Hawaii to contribute to stemming the COVID-19 pandemic. END