Brief History of Guangzhou PCG

The year 1997 was significant for the Philippine-Guangdong Province relations as it marked the establishment of the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou on 23 March 1997 headed by Consul General Luis T. Cruz. The Opening Ceremony was held on 23 May 1997 at the White Swan Hotel and was graced by former Senate President Ernesto M. Maceda, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo L. Siazon, Jr. and Philippine Ambassador to China Romualdo A. Ong on the Philippine side, Guangdong Vice Governor Lu Zhonghe, Vice Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, and Guangzhou Vice Mayor Liu Jinxiang on the Chinese side.

The opening of the Consulate General was in fulfillment of the agreement entered into by the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China in November 1996 during the state visit of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the Philippines.

The Consulate covered the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The Philippines is the 11th country that opened its Consulate General in Guangzhou. Consulates from other countries now include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, The United States and Vietnam.

To date, Post had five Consuls General:

a) Mr. Luis T. Cruz (07 May 1997 – 30 June 2000);
b) Mr. Isaias F. Begonia (12 September 2000 – 30 April 2003)
c) Ms. Erlinda Q. Gavino (30 April 2003 – 9 March 2007);
d) Mr. Shulan O. Primavera (10 October 2007 - 05 September 2008); and
e) Mr. Alex G. Chua (16 September 2008 - present)

Following the Second Consular Consultations among Foreign Service Posts in China held in Beijing on 18-21 August 2003, Post’s area of responsibility has increased by virtue of Department Order No. 32-03 dated 29 August 2003 which superseded Department Order No. 57-95 dated 17 October 1995. Three provinces, namely, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan have been officially included in its jurisdiction. The Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou now covers seven (7) provinces, i.e. Guangdong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hunan, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces and one city-state, i.e. City State of Chongqing.

Establishment of Relations with Host Country

The Philippines and China established diplomatic relations on 09 June 1975 with the signing of the Joint Communiqué of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. Former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Premier Zhou Enlai signed the Communiqué.