HNN series explores special relationship between Hawaii and the Philippines

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii News Now marked Filipino American History Month with a new series to spotlight the special connection between Hawaii and the Philippines.

About 1 in 4 people in Hawaii claim some Filipino ancestry.

Anchor/reporter Annalisa Burgos traveled to Manila and the Ilocos region to film stories that will air through the rest of the year.

SPECIAL SECTION: Focus on the Philippines

The first wave of Filipino migrants to Hawaii were 15 sakadas (contract laborers) who were brought from the northern part of the Philippines in 1906 by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association to work on the sugar plantations. Now more than 80% of the Filipinos in Hawaii have ties to the Ilocos region, mainly Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

More waves of migrants continued to follow — nurses, teachers, family members — and Filipinos are still the fastest growing immigrant group in Hawaii.

The country’s current president Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos, Jr. is the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., who lived in exile in Hawaii from 1986, when he was ousted in a “People Power” revolution, until his death in Honolulu in 1989. His family was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991.

Be sure to keep up with Annalisa’s adventures on her Facebook and Instagram for more exclusive content from the Philippines.

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