Senator Donna Kim Mercado & Congress of Visayan Organizations Governor Frank Canete.....Charlene Cuaresma Filipino Community Leader....2005 & 2006 represented a year of celebrating the first Filipino migration of plantation workers to Hawaii in 1906....the history of the plantation town of Waipahu represents a rich discovery of multicultural families whose roots first began in sugar and pineapple plantations throughout the Hawaiian Islands ...beginning in 1829 of the first Chinese laborers...then in the 1880's over 220,000 laborers from Japan contributed to our rich island plantation heritage....with the largest migration of Filipino workers of over 150,000 laborers spread over 20 years in the 1920's and 30's ......after a 3 or 5 year contract ....about 50K stayed in Hawaii..another 50K returned to the Philippines and approximately 50K migrated up and down the West Coast...
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The Congress of Visayan Organizations (a.k.a. the Visayan Congress), the umbrella of Visayan organizations in Hawaii, was initially organized in 1985 as the Visayan League through the efforts of several individuals: then Philippine Consul General Raul Rabe, the late Honolulu city council chair and state representative Rudy Pacarro, former state representative Bernaldo Bicoy, the late Antonio Ypil, Sr., the late Fr. Jaime Neri, the late Ricardo Labez, and Firmo Dayao, among others. It was incorporated as a Hawaii non-profit corporation on February 9, 1988, adopting its current corporate name from the suggestion of the late ambassador Juan Dionisio.
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As an inclusive body, COVO has affiliates from about 20 independent unit member organizations statewide. It is governed by a Board of Governors, which consists of the President, other executive officers, area governors and presidents of the Island Councils. COVO holds an annual convention and elects its officers every two years. Its past presidents include: Firmo Dayao, Corazon Roa, the late Gerry Minoza (in an acting capacity), the late Rudolph Pacarro, Nic Musico (in an acting capacity); Dr. Danelo Cafiete; Atty. Bernaldo Bicoy (three terms), Dr. Serafin Colmenares, Jr. (two terms), and Benjamin Sanchez Jr. Its current president is Margarita Hopkins from the Big Island.
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http://www.visayancongress.net/officers.htm