This year, Hawaii Filipino Chronicle (HFC) is celebrating its 33rd anniversary.
When I joined HFC in late 2019, the paper was preparing for its anniversary gala dinner to celebrate the paper’s 25th and 26th anniversaries.
I was a recent graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa at the time, and I spent my college years championing Filipino and Filipino American stories.
Joining HFC as an editorial assistant was a no-brainer. It was my chance to work directly with the Filipino community in Hawaii and, in a way, give back to the community that took care of me.
Founded in 1993, HFC was established by Charlie Sonido, M.D. and Chona Montesines-Sonido when they noticed the need for news coverage that is relevant to the growing Filipino and Filipino American community in Hawaii.
And true to its name, HFC chronicled events and issues relevant to Filipinos in Hawaii, the United States, and the Philippines for the past 33 years. The paper championed Filipino and Filipino American voices in media, politics, business, and the arts.
My most memorable HFC coverage
Since I joined HFC, I have helped cover numerous issues and events for the Filipino community in Hawaii and beyond.
From featuring local Filipino public office candidates, small businesses, and local artists, to covering Hawaii Filipino news, Filipino movie screenings and more, I was an all-around member of the HFC editorial team.
But for me, the most memorable HFC coverage we did was during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t just the community we’re covering that was going through changes because of the pandemic; the paper had to adjust and adapt too.
Our readers grabbed copies of HFC from newsstands located in supermarkets, clinics, restaurants, and other small businesses for the past several years.
With those establishments limiting customers and the government imposing lockdowns to minimize the spread of COVID, HFC had to pivot quickly to ensure our coverage reached our readers.
We all worked remotely. We still continued printing our issues and delivering them to newsstands to keep our offline readers updated despite the lower foot traffic.
Our editorial team covered numerous updates on federal and local government agency mandates on lockdown, stimulus checks, cash assistance, food drives, safety and quarantine protocols, and vaccine availability.
Continuous updates on COVID variants and vaccine variants were also available in every issue of HFC. The paper also shared news on COVID vaccine drives spearheaded by the Filipino Community Center’s FilCom CARES.
HFC covered every facet of the COVID pandemic, especially when the second-worst hit by the pandemic was the Filipino community. Filipinos in Hawaii are everywhere, from the frontlines of essential businesses to the frontlines of clinics and hospitals.
In between the constant updates and mandates we were covering, HFC still took the time to shine the light on the people that mattered the most: the Filipinos who kept us safe and going amid the COVID pandemic.
After the pandemic
The effects of the pandemic were a reminder that HFC is now more important than ever.
It was an eye-opener for HFC to realize that it’s important to have an established online presence. Before the pandemic, HFC was solely a print newspaper with a static website. When the pandemic happened, the lower foot traffic meant it was time for HFC to prioritize social media and its website.
We revamped its website to update bi-weekly alongside the release of the latest printed issue. HFC is now easily found on social media. Electronic versions of the printed issues are accessible on its online archive.
Having an online presence also meant HFC isn’t confined to Hawaii anymore; it’s now accessible to readers in the mainland and beyond, including the Philippines.
The government’s response to COVID and its effects meant that people are more critical of their public officials than ever. HFC is a newspaper by the people for the people, and at its core is the passion to serve the betterment of the community.
HFC covered #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate, alongside similar social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter.
The paper’s several cover stories and columns from various contributing authors highlighted the racist rhetoric and the social movements that emerged during the COVID pandemic.
Residents are recovering from the effects of the pandemic, and they rely heavily on the government to support their recovery. Election season during the pandemic was the time for the people to make their voices heard.
Every election year, I was tasked to reach out to public office candidates with Filipino ancestry and ask about their background and the issues they care about. It’s HFC’s way of providing a platform for Filipino and Filipino American candidates to directly address the Filipino community in Hawaii.
Whether the candidates are Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I learned that all they want to achieve is to make Hawaii more affordable for its residents by making housing affordable and offering more job opportunities to residents. I realized that the power is truly with the voters to elect competent public officials who will make these promises a reality.
The pandemic wasn’t the only period that HFC had to cover intensely, but it’s the coverage that taught me so much while reflecting on the state of the newspaper, its readers, and the Filipino community.
Celebrating 33 years
I might have joined HFC in its latter years, but I feel connected and represented in this newspaper.
When I joined the team, I was prepared to serve and give back to the Filipino community. But I didn’t know that I would learn so much in my journey with HFC.
With three decades of history, HFC taught me that some things truly never change. The Filipino community is resilient but also brave in challenging the status quo. There are several Filipinos and Filipino Americans making waves in numerous sectors, and I just never heard any of them from traditional media outlets.
Representation is truly important, and HFC provided that representation. As part of the HFC, our articles amplified the voices of the exceptional Filipinos and Filipino Americans we featured. I was among the group of writers and authors who connected with the Filipino community in Hawaii and beyond.
Three decades. That’s how long HFC has been around, serving and representing the Filipino community. This is a testament to their dedication to delivering news, features, and shedding light on important issues.
Three decades is not just a milestone achievement but proof that HFC has a long-lasting impact on the Filipino community.
Stay connected
With the recent news that HFC’s printing press provider in Maui is shutting down, it is uncertain when and where the paper’s 2026 issues will be printed, or if the paper will continue releasing issues.
Prior to Maui Printing Press, HFC was a partner of Hawaii Hochi Printing in Honolulu until Hochi’s closure in July 16, 2024.
HFC will still be available to access online. We encourage you to continue reading our past issues, cover stories, and articles. That’s three decades worth of Filipino and Filipino American history in Hawaii.
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