PH consular team on way to help Pinoys in Hawaii amid wildfires--DFA exec
At A Glance
- A Philippine consular team is on its way to the state of Hawaii in the United States (US) in an effort to help distressed Filipino nationals who were affected by the wildfire there.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega (Screenshot from Facebook live)
A Philippine consular team is on its way to the state of Hawaii in the United States (US) in an effort to help distressed Filipino nationals who were affected by the wildfire there.
This was confirmed by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega Tuesday, Aug. 15 during the DFA's budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations.
Once there in Hawaii, the team would be able to locate an assist Filipinos, the official said.
"There are 50 [Filipino] teachers under a J1 visa who are in Maui and we don’t know how many of them yet were actually...affected," De Vega said."They will be arriving Tuesday Hawaii time," he said of the consular team. A total of 99 people have reportedly perished in the wildfires.
"The Maui authorities has not given a breakdown by nationality [of the fatalities]. However, in Maui, 17 percent of the population are Filipinos or Filipino-Americans so we have to accept the possibility that eventualy, when they identify bodies, there will be some Filipinos or at least Filipino-Americans," De Vega told the House members.
"As of now we cannot confirm actual losses of Filipino citizens or how many are among those missing. However, we have been indicating before media and other sectors the hotline numbers of the consulate in Hawaii," he said.
De Vega explained to the solons that the DFA cannot tap its assistance to nationals (ATN) fund to help Filipino-Americans. However, they would still be able to receive relief goods.