The Philippine Consulate in Houston was established to bring essential Philippine consular services closer to the Filipino community of the South Central United States, both resident Philippine citizens and Filipino-Americans. Beyond these services, the Consulate promotes Philippine interests across its jurisdiction, building partnerships in energy, trade, and investment, in science and education, and in the cultural ties that further promote people-to-people exchange.

The Consulate General was first established in 1979, with offices on the 8th floor of the American General Tower Building, also known as the Wortham Tower, at 2727 Allen Parkway, Houston. Its consular jurisdiction covered Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma (U.S. Department of State 1979, 90; 1986a, 72).

The Consulate General was first led by Rodolfo C. Severino Jr., who served as Consul General from 1979 to 1986 (U.S. Department of State 1979, 90; 1986a, 72; 1986b, 73). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University (Ng 2019). Having previously been posted in the United States and the People’s Republic of China, he went on from Houston to a distinguished diplomatic career, most notably as Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia from 1989 to 1992 and as the 10th Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 1998 to 2002 (Ng 2019; Orellana and Aning 2019).

Consul General Severino was succeeded by Mariano C. Landicho, who served as the Consulate’s 2nd Consul General from 1986 to 1988 (U.S. Department of State 1986b, 73; 1988, 71; 1989, 75). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service and a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of the Philippines (“Perfecta ‘Pitang’ Garcia Landicho” n.d.). Before Houston, he had served as Consul at the Philippine Consulate General in Seattle from 1975 to 1983 and, earlier, at Philippine diplomatic and consular posts in Hong Kong, Paris, and Madrid (“Perfecta ‘Pitang’ Garcia Landicho” n.d.; Corsilles 1983, 77; U.S. Department of State 1976, 91; 1983, 194). It was during his tenure that Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi were added to the Consulate’s jurisdiction, following the closure of the Philippine Consulate General in New Orleans at the end of 1985 (Philippines, Office of the President 1985; U.S. Department of State 1986b, 73).

Consul General Landicho was succeeded by Antonio L. Ramirez, who served as the 3rd Consul General from 1988 to 1991 (U.S. Department of State 1989, 75; 1991a, 60; 1991b, 55). Previously posted to Philippine diplomatic and consular missions in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, among others, Consul General Ramirez oversaw the Consulate’s transfer to the 11th floor of the Texas Commerce Bank Building at 5177 Richmond Ave., Suite 1100, Houston (Colombo Plan Secretariat 2014, 93; Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Abu Dhabi n.d.; Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores 1970, 9; U.S. Department of State 1990, 61).

Consul General Ramirez was succeeded by Juan V. Saez, who served as the 4th Consul General from 1991 to 1993 (U.S. Department of State 1991b, 55; 1993, 71). A journalist by profession, notably with the Manila Times, he served as press attaché at the Philippine Embassy in London around 1958 (“Nieman Notes” 1963, 40). After joining the Philippine foreign service, he was assigned to various Philippine diplomatic and consular missions, including those in Geneva, Berne, and Belgrade (Diplomatic Conference 1977, 96; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1974, 14; UNESCO 1980, 65). Before his assignment to Houston, he served as Philippine Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1986 to 1989 and to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1989 to 1991 (Embassy of the Philippines in Amman n.d.; Embassy of the Philippines in Moscow n.d.). Consul General Saez was the last head of the Consulate General before it was closed in 1993 as a result of government austerity measures and administrative rationalization (Aragon 2019; FSM Information Service 1993, 7; Philippine News Agency 2018; U.S. Department of State 1993, 71). He went on to become Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam (Embassy of the Philippines in Brunei Darussalam n.d.).

With the Philippine Consulate General in Houston’s closure, Texas and New Mexico were transferred to the consular jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, while Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi were placed under that of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago (Inquirer.net US Bureau 2014; Philippine Consulate General in Chicago n.d.).

Nonetheless, a limited consular presence was maintained intermittently in Houston through Philippine Honorary Consuls, namely Roberto Lesaca Garcia in 1995 and Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. from 1997 to 2003 (U.S. Department of State 1995a, 83; 1995b, 80; 1998, 85; 2003, 93). In addition, a Philippine Honorary Consulate in Dallas, Texas, was headed by Ethel Reyes-Mercado from 2014 to 2018 (Asian Journal Press 2014; U.S. Department of State 2016, 102; Romualdez 2019).

It was only in 2018, after the Philippine government recognized the pressing need for accessible consular services for the growing Filipino population of the South Central United States, that the Philippine Consulate General in Houston was reopened at its current location at 9990 Richmond Ave., Houston, with Jerril G. Santos as its 5th Consul General (Aragon 2019; Philippine News Agency 2018; Romualdez 2019). Consul General Santos earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the University of the Philippines and a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy as a Fulbright scholar (Santos n.d., 1-2). He began at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in 1979 as a casual employee in the Office of Protocol, where he served as close-in protocol officer first to Foreign Affairs Secretary Carlos P. Romulo, until the latter’s retirement, and then to First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos (Santos n.d., 1). He was sworn in as a Foreign Service Officer in 1984 (Santos n.d., 1). He subsequently served at the Philippine Embassies in Seoul and Tokyo, later as Minister and Consul General in Ottawa, and as Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam from 2009 to 2016. (Embassy of the Philippines in Hanoi n.d.; Santos n.d., 1-2). Consul General Santos’s expertise in protocol is reflected in his repeated appointments to the country’s highest protocol posts. He served as Chief of Presidential Protocol to Presidents Fidel V. Ramos (1996–1998), Joseph E. Estrada (1998), and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2007–2009), and twice as the DFA’s Assistant Secretary for Protocol (2006–2007 and 2016–2018), the latter immediately before his assignment to Houston. (Santos n.d., 2).

With the reopening, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Mississippi were once again placed under the Consulate’s jurisdiction (Aragon 2019; Philippine Consulate General in Chicago n.d.; Romualdez 2019).

In 2024, Gunther Emil M. Sales succeeded Consul General Santos as the 6th Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in Houston (Philippine Consulate General in Houston n.d.; Sales n.d., 1). Consul General Sales holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University and a master’s degree in Public Management from the Ateneo School of Government (Sales n.d., 1). A career Foreign Service Officer since 2002, he was posted to the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm from 2007 to 2012, where he served as Third Secretary and Vice Consul and later as Second Secretary and Consul, and to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., from 2014 to 2021, where he served as First Secretary and Consul and later as Minister and Consul. At the Department of Foreign Affairs, his work has spanned APEC and WTO concerns at the Office of the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations; General Assembly, Security Council, disarmament, and human rights issues at the Office of United Nations and Other International Organizations; and institution-building initiatives at the Human Resources Management Office. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the DFA’s Office of American Affairs from 2022 to 2024, immediately before his assignment to Houston. (Philippine Consulate General in Houston n.d.; Sales n.d., 1).

As of 2026, the Consulate General continues to serve the Filipino community across its six-state jurisdiction, carrying forward a Philippine consular presence in Houston first established more than four decades ago.

(Reference list available upon request with the author.)