Filipinos have stood as staunch defenders of the environment wherever they may be – from the motherland across the different oceans. In New Zealand, Francisco Hernandez, the first Filipino Member of Parliament (MP) from the Green Party, is committed to acting against climate change.
“I’m here to help protect our planet and I’m here to protect our people as well,” MP Hernandez said in his interview on the Barangay New Zealand podcast with Direk Rene Molina. “To me, that means fighting for a [society] where we honor the rights of nature.”
Political Awakening
Elected in May 2024, Hernandez is the newest parliamentarian of the Green Party. The party advocates for ecological sustainability and social responsibility across its policies to protect native wildlife, promote clean energy, and advance affordable housing.
Hernandez moved from the Philippines to New Zealand when he was 12 years-old. After initially settling in Wellington, his family moved to Auckland when his brother Tighe was diagnosed with a heart condition. This proved to be a turning point in cementing Hernandez’s political passions.
“The level of care that was afforded to my brother was compassionate, humane, and extraordinary given our circumstances as recent immigrants to the country. We had government support while Tighe was in hospital,” he shared in an interview with Otago University, his alma mater. “New Zealand cares for its residents equally, regardless of background. That didn’t happen by accident. That’s why I’m interested in politics.”
His career as a climate activist soon came after. “I’ve been passionate about the climate change issue since I was quite young. We see it in the Philippines [in] the impacts of extreme weather events… my background growing up in the Philippines and also the things we see [in New Zealand] led me to keep getting involved,” he said on the podcast.
In case you missed it: Francisco Hernandez is the first Filipino-Kiwi Member of Parliament from the @NZGreens More on his upcoming plans to uplift New Zealand’s environment on @GoodNewsPinas_ pic.twitter.com/9EMOqo2FQo
— Summer Sanares (@scvannasummer) June 6, 2024
As a student at Otago University, he became the President of the Student Association and spearheaded a free food initiative to curb food waste. After completing his studies, he began working at different pro-climate organizations.
“I was involved in a group called Generation Zero, which is a youth climate justice group. And that’s how I ended up getting involved in the New Zealand youth delegation, which went to Paris,” he said.
In Paris, he played a role in forming the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change.
“After that, I worked in different public sector agencies, like the Climate Change Commission. And then I headed back down to Dunedin just a couple of years ago to work at the Otago Regional Council as the Principal Climate Advisor,” he added.
First Filipino Green Parliamentarian
MP Hernandez became the second Filipino-Kiwi in Parliament when he was elected. “I think it’s really good that with Paulo Garcia [from the National Party] being the first Filipino MP, we can also have an opposition MP [from the Green Party] so we can approach whatever problems and issues we’re having at both ends,” he shared.
When it was time for Hernandez to be sworn in, he recited his oath of allegiance in both Tagalog and Te Reo Maori.
“Ako, si Francisco Bagkus Hernandez, ay sumusumpa na ako ay magiging tapat at mag-aalay ng tunay na katapatan sa Kanyang Kamahalan, kay King Charles III, sa Kanyang mga tagapagmana at kahalili, alinsunod sa batas. Tulungan nawa ako ng Diyos,” he stated in his oath
(I, Francisco Bagkus Hernandez, swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his majesty King Charles III, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.)
WATCH MP Francisco Hernandez’s maiden Parliament speech here:
“I’ll help represent the Filipino community in Parliament,” he told Barangay New Zealand. “We are an important constituency – I think in the last census there were 80,000 Filipinos. And in the coming census, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were around 150-200,000 Filipinos now.”
Now seated in one of the most esteemed political positions in New Zealand, Hernandez is concentrating his platform on public services, tertiary education, and emergency management.
“I’m passionate about tertiary education because education is not just a tool that produces good workers or good consumers. I think we can use education as a way [to] empower people,” he imparted. “I’m also quite passionate about emergency management because New Zealand has had a lot of climate disasters over the past decade and it’s going to keep happening. We need to make sure that we’re getting the communities involved and that we’re preparing people for [what] might happen.”
Hernandez delivered his maiden speech in Parliament on May 23, 2024, to a large Filipino crowd, highlighting patriotism and climate justice. “Very few people love this country more than the people who had to earn their right to be here, and from Kaitāia to Bluff, tens of thousands of my fellow Filipinos are proving their love for our adoptive country. At the crack of dawn, we’re out there milking the cows. Throughout the day, we’re maintaining the critical IT infrastructure, and till dusk, we provide the backbone of our hospitals and aged care facilities. And now we are here in the halls of power writing the laws and debating the future of our country,” he declared in his parliamentary address.
In a world that is increasingly threatened by rising temperatures, it is paramount that Filipinos come together to protect future generations.
Read more about how Filipinos have made themselves heard in the New Zealand political sphere! Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino Member of the New Zealand Parliament, spoke in Filipino in his maiden speech in 2019. The Filipino community then celebrated his inauguration by singing “Pinoy Ako” in the Parliament gallery.
Be part of our vibrant Good News Pilipinas community, celebrating the best of the Philippines and our global Filipino heroes. As winners of the Gold Anvil Award and the Lasallian Scholarum Award, we invite you to engage with us and share your inspiring stories. For stories Making Every Filipino Proud, reach out to GoodNewsPilipinas.com via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. LinkTree here. Let’s spread good news together!
