About Us

The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle was established on July 1, 1993 initially on a semi-monthly basis. The first copy came out on October 1, 1993.

The newspaper was created in response to the growing need to reach out to the Filipino community, to inform and educate and provide the vehicle with which our community can grow and prosper.

Each edition of the Chronicle features lively editorial content, informative community news and calendar of events, interesting stories and educational topics. Inside the Chronicle, you will find a variety of issues and columns that are both engaging and informative.

• Headline News and Cover Stories
• Community News & Calendar of Events
• History & Culture
• Art and Leisure
• Business
• Legal Notes / Immigration
• Government & Politics
• Health and Medical News
• Consumer and Food News
• Education
• Movie and Book Reviews

The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle has been an informative resource to the small business community. Under the initiative and direction of Chona A. Montesines-Sonido, the Chronicle has published numerous articles helping small business owners every step of the way from starting up a company to enhancing profits through effective management, finance, marketing, and tax filing.

Montesines-Sonido was recently honored by the Hawaii Filipino Women’s Club as the Woman Achiever in the field of journalism. She was also recognized by the City Council, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, Governor Linda Lingle, Mayor Mufi Hanneman, and the Kalayaan Philippines-Hawaii International for her outstanding achievement in the field of journalism. Montesines-Sonido was a recent panel speaker on the Ethnic Media, presented by the Honolulu Community Media Council. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and is Honolulu’s SBA Small Business Journalist of the Year Awardee for 2006.

Publisher & Executive Editor
Charlie Y. Sonido,. M.D.

Publisher & Managing Editor
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido

Associate Editors
Edwin Quinabo
Dennis Galolo

Contributing Editor
Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.

Layout Designer
Junggoi Peralta

Editorial Assistant
Jim Bea Sampaga

Administrative Assistants
Lilia Capalad
Shalimar Pagulayan

Columnists
Carlota Hufana Ader
Elpidio R. Estioko
Emil Guillermo
Melissa Martin, Ph.D.
JP Orias
Pacita Saludes
Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.
Charlie Sonido, M.D.
Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.

Contributing Writer
Clement Bautista
Edna Bautista, Ed.D.
Teresita Bernales, Ed.D.
Sheryll Bonilla, Esq.
Rose Churma
Serafin Colmenares Jr., Ph.D.
Linda Dela Cruz
Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand
Caroline Julia
Raymond Ll. Liongson, Ph.D.
Federico Magdalena, Ph.D.
Matthew Mettias
Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D.
Renelaine Bontol-Pfister
Seneca Moraleda-Puguan
Mark Lester Ranchez
Jay Valdez, Psy.D.
Glenn Wakai
Amado Yoro

Philippine Correspondent
Greg Garcia

Neighbor Island Correspondents

Big Island (Hilo and Kona)
Grace Larson

Kauai
Milicent Washington

Maui
Christine Sabado

Big Island Distributors
Grace Larson

Kauai Distributors
Amylou Aguinaldo, Nestor Aguinaldo

Maui Distributors
Cecille Piros, Rey Piros

Molokai Distributors
Maria Watanabe

Oahu Distributors
Yoshimasa Kaneko
Jonathan Pagulayan

Advertising/Marketing Director
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido
JP Orias

Photography
Tim Llena