About the Office
History
The Philippine Consulate General was established immediately upon gaining Philippine Independence in 1946. The Consulate is guided by the country’s national development goals and objectives. The Department of Foreign Affair’s core programs anchored on the three pillars of Philippine foreign policy, namely:
- Enhancement of national security;
- Utilization of development diplomacy to attain economic security; and
- Promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of the Filipino Overseas.
From the very basic consular service of passport renewal to Philippine nationals in Northern California, the service of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco has expanded over the years. It now includes services like the efficient implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act and the Philippine Citizenship Reacquisition and Retention Act of 2003, otherwise known as the Dual Citizenship Law.
The first Consul General of San Francisco PCG was Hon. ROBERTO REGALA. It was on July 4, 1946 that the Philippines as an independent state started its formal diplomatic relations with the United States. Other official heads of San Francisco Philippine Consul General were:
Hon. JOSE IMPERIAL (no date available)
Hon. MARIANO ESPELETA (1950-1953)
Hon. BENIGNO PIDLAON (1953-1954)
Hon. NICANOR ROXAS (1954-1959)
Hon. SOFRONIO ABRERA (1960-1963)
Hon. JOSE MORENO (1963-1965)
Hon. RENATO URQUIOLA (1965-1968)
Hon. SAMSON SABALLONES (1968-1970)
Hon. CARLOS FAUSTINO (1970-1972)
Hon. TRINIDAD ALCONCEL (1972-1976)
Hon. ROMEO ARGUELLES (1976-1986)
Hon. VIRGILIO NANAGAS (1986-1989)
Hon. ROSALINDA TIRONA (1989-1990)
Hon. ALFREDO ALMENDRALA (1990-1995)
Hon. TERESITA MARZAN (1995-1998)
Hon. AMADO CORTEZ (1999-2001)
Hon. DELIA MENEZ ROSAL (2001-2004)
Hon. MARIA ROWENA MENDOZA SANCHEZ (2004-2007)
Hon. MARCIANO PAYNOR, JR. (2007-2014)
Hon. HENRY S. BENSURTO, JR. (2014-present)
In June 2014 HON. HENRY S. BENSURTO, JR. assumed his post as the new Consul General in San Francisco.
Consular Jurisdiction
The Consulate General in San Francisco covers Northern California, Northern Nevada, Washington State, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Alaska.
According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the total estimated number of Filipinos residing in the United States is 2,555,314 representing 0.83 percent of the entire country’s population. Of this total, California alone accounts for an overwhelming majority of 1,195,580 Filipinos.
Below is the number of Filipinos in the states under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco
|
Summary of the growth rate of the total population and the number of Filipinos from 2000 to 2010 in states under the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco |
|||||||||
|
Rank |
Geography |
Total |
Total |
Total |
Growth |
Number of |
Number of |
Number of |
Growth |
|
1 |
Northern California |
13,234,136 |
14,573,946 |
1,339,810 |
10% |
493,414 |
649,646 |
156,232 |
31.7% |
|
2 |
Washington |
5,894,121 |
6,724,540 |
830,419 |
14% |
91,765 |
137,083 |
45,318 |
49.4% |
|
3 |
Oregon |
3,421,399 |
3,831,074 |
409,675 |
12% |
18,014 |
29,101 |
11,087 |
61.5% |
|
4 |
Colorado |
4,301,261 |
5,029,196 |
727,935 |
17% |
14,716 |
26,242 |
11,526 |
78.3% |
|
5 |
Alaska |
626,932 |
710,231 |
83,299 |
13% |
16,170 |
25,424 |
9,254 |
57.2% |
|
6 |
Northern Nevada |
585,842 |
653,356 |
67,514 |
12% |
9,295 |
15,204 |
15,204 |
163.6% |
|
7 |
Utah |
2,233,169 |
2,763,885 |
530,716 |
24% |
5,396 |
10,657 |
5,261 |
97.5% |
|
8 |
Idaho |
1,293,953 |
1,567,582 |
273,629 |
21% |
3,196 |
6,211 |
3,015 |
94.3% |
|
9 |
Montana |
902,195 |
989,415 |
87,220 |
10% |
1,647 |
2,829 |
1,182 |
71.8% |
|
10 |
Wyoming |
493,782 |
563,626 |
69,844 |
14% |
894 |
1,657 |
763 |
85.3% |
|
|
TOTAL |
32,986,790 |
37,406,851 |
4,420,061 |
13% |
654,507 |
904,054 |
249,547 |
38.1% |
Consular Location and Service Hours
The Philippine Consulate General is located on the 6th Floor of the Philippine Center Building, 447 Sutter Street in San Francisco. It maintains facilities on the 5th floor of the same building where its attached agencies, the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Philippine Center Management Board (PCMB) hold offices.
The Philippine Center Building is close to Union Square of San Francisco, near the corner of Sutter and Powell Streets. Housed in the same building are the offices of the Philippine Airlines and a number of travel agencies and law offices mostly owned and managed by Filipino nationals.
The Consulate maintains regular working hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. without noon breaks, Mondays through Fridays. The Consulate observes both national holidays of the Philippines and the U.S.
DIRECTIONS TO THE CONSULATE
By BART
- Get off at Powell Station
- Walk up 5 blocks towards Sutter Street
- From Powell St, turn right on Sutter Street
From Stockton St, turn left on Sutter Street
By private transportation
From the South of San Francisco via Highway 280 (Peninsula)
- Take the I-80 N via the ramp on the left towards Downtown/San Francisco
- Merge into Hwy 101 N toward Civic Center/Bay Bridge
- Keep right toward Bay Bridge/Oakland/7th St/Hwy101N
- Exit 2 for 4th Street
- Turn slight left onto Bryant St
- Turn left at 3rd Street, 3rd Street becomes Kearny St.
- Turn left at Sutter Street
OR
- Take the I-80 N via the ramp on the left towards Downtown/San Francisco
- Merge into Hwy 101 N toward Civic Center/Bay Bridge
- Keep right toward Bay Bridge/Oakland/7th St/Hwy101N
- Exit at 6th Street
- At Market Street, slightly left to Taylor Street
- Turn right at Post Street
- Turn left at Grant Street
- Turn left at Sutter Street
From South of San Francisco via Highway 101
- Take 101 North toward San Francisco and Bay Bridge
- Exit 280 North toward Port of San Francisco/280 North
- Stay in the left lane and 280 becomes King Street
- At 2nd light, turn left at 3rd Street and go 8 blocks to Market Street
- Cross over Market Street (which becomes Kearny Street) and continue 2 blocks.
- Turn left at Sutter Street
From the East (East Bay and Oakland)
- Take Hwy 80 West toward San Francisco/Bay Bridge
- Take the Fremont Street exit
- Turn left at Fremont Street
- Continue on Front Street
- Turn left at Pine Street
- Turn left at Montgomery Street
- Turn right at Sutter Street
From the North (through Golden Gate Bridge)
- Take Hwy 101 S to San Francisco
- Cross the Golden Gate Bridge
- Take Lombard Street/Hwy 101
- Turn right at Van Ness Avenue.
- Turn left at Broadway Street towards Broadway tunnel
- Slight left at Broadway Street
- Turn right at Stockton Street towards Stockton tunnel
- Turn right at Sutter Street
24-HR PARKING SPACES
The parking spaces indicated below are privately-operated and as such, the Consulate is not responsible for the management of these spaces. Rates may change without prior notice.
|
Name/Location/Telephone Number |
Rates |
|
450 Sutter Garage 450 Sutter St (at Stockton St) San Francisco CA 94108 Tel: (415) 421-4444, (415) 781-1606 |
$1.75 every 20 minutes $5.25 per hour $23 4hrs 21 min to 8 hrs $30 maximum |
|
750 Bush Street Between Powell and Mason Tel: (415) 544-9170 |
$2.50 every 20 minutes $15 up to 12 hrs |
|
Crown Plaza Garage 480 Sutter, between Sutter and Bush Tel: (415) 398-8900 ext. 7110 |
$2.50 every 20 minutes $30 maximum |
|
Sutter Stockton Garage 330 Sutter Street, San Francisco CA 94108 or 444 Stockton Street, San Francisco CA 94108 Tel: (415) 982-7275; (415) 982 8370 |
$2: 1 hr $12: 5 hrs $5: 2 hrs $15: 6 hrs $7: 3 hrs $18: 7 hrs $9: 4 hrs $21: 8 hrs |
|
Union Square Garage 333 Post St, (between Powell and Stockton) Tel: (415) 397-0631 |
$2: 1 hr $8: 3 hrs $3: 1.5 hrs $9: 3.5 hrs $4: 2 hrs $10: 4 hrs $6: 2.5 hrs |
Contact Information
| Telephone | 415-433-6666 | |
| Fax | 415-421-2641 | |
| The Duty Officer | 415-269-2090 | |
