During every election cycle, Filipino American voters bring a cluster of priorities highlighting economic needs, immigration anxieties, and health care, among other issues in the mix but these community concerns rarely surface in mainstream political narratives.
The core issue behind this absence in the political landscape that tends to perpetuate Filipinos’ under-recognition is not a lack of interest. On the contrary, many Filipinos are politically engaged but still, it’s this group’s lower turnout as voters than other Asian American communities that apparently shapes its potential as a viable voting bloc.
Filipino Americans are rarely polled, seldom recognized during political campaigns and scarcely figure in serious political discourses. And yet, their empowerment lies in the fact that approximately 2.14 million of them are eligible at the polls. Almost 179,000 Filipinos naturalized over the latest 4-year cycle – and therefore more were added to the electorate population. (American Community Survey 2022 5-Year File).
Filipino Americans’ lower rate of voting record (54% in 2020) compared to other Asian Americans in the US exacerbates the already poor recognition of the community that has been labeled as “invisible Asians.” This election participation improved to 63% in 2024 (AAPI Data Analysis). Still, Filipinos as a voting bloc are frequently overlooked in top-of-mind political categories, resulting in a serious dearth of attention by government operatives to the community’s concerns—especially immigration, health care, and economic stability.
The crucial need to rise from obscurity and creating a unfied Filipino
American policy agenda
Filipino Americans can become far more visible to candidates when they act in ways that campaigns cannot ignore: showing up in numbers, organizing in recognizable blocs, and showing that their concerns translate into votes.
Mobilization demonstrates power; however, articulation of needs that frame the Filipino American voters’ motivation to vote is important. Issues that feel personal and outreach that is culturally specific both capture the mind and heart of the voter, and they make the critical connection with candidates willing to listen.
A political conundrum
Mobilization is only as good when voters are truly engaged. And here, Filipino Americans behave differently from other voting communities. They give far less money to candidates, not because of apathy but due to how campaigns treat the community. This is borne by research that if and when campaigns “rarely invest in them,” it is the condition that drives whether or not people give monetary contributions.
Political dollar offering does not come easily for Filipino Americans. It is not a normal practice. Hard-earned dollars in America go to sustain many impoverished lives in the Philippines and support multi-generational families in the US. Auxiliary roles by Filipinos come by way of volunteering, attending events, coaxing relatives and friends to vote for certain candidates, or installing campaign paraphernalia in designated locations.
Have the Filipino Americans achieved empowerment to unleash political influence? Is the community able to generate a distinct political personality composed of defined constituents with clear wants and needs? If the answers to these questions are ‘No,” then it’s time the ‘invisible’ label was dropped in favor of creating a sustained political rhythm.
Generating a FilAm Chicago-centric political agenda comes first. Core issues pursued by Filipino Americans include immigration backlog, healthcare, services for seniors, job opportunities, among others and must be clearly articulated.
Cultural touchpoints like Piyesta Pinoy, Christmas and holiday celebrations, Filipino American Historical events and milestones provide immense opportunities for exposure for the community and must be promoted heavily. Strengthening Filipinos in politicians’ mindset should be a year-round effort and not only during elections. Rizal Center could be a venue for political education where the community may articulate the group’s particular concerns.
Finally, in the absence of dollar donor supporters, civic organizations, and there are many in the Filipino American community, may begin to develop some form of PACs, however modest at the start, and explore building fundraising pipelines for candidates. Filipinos will give if they know politicians listen and respond to this community’s concerns accordingly.
Connie Triggiano is currently Board Secretary of Circa-Pintig, a Chicago community theater organization. She works as Academic and English tutor assisting foreign students to pass IELTS, TOEFL, Celpic, ESL and other English exams to gain admission to universities in English speaking countries. She also trains greencard holders to pass US citizenship exams and interview. She worked for many years as Vice-President of Chicago-based Leo Burnett Advertising in its Manila office where she managed the advertising accounts of the country’s biggest brands: Procter & Gamble, Pepsi Cola International, BPI, Vicks, Wyeth and Cathay Pacific. She edited a travel newspaper in Singapore and taught college freshmen in a local university. Connie graduated with a BA degree, major in English, from the University of San Francisco in California while working as an information officer for a United Way agency. She took up MS in Advertising at the Asian Institute for the Development of Advertising, UST Graduate School.
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