History of COPAO


In 1971, Filemon Adrid, with the help of a few community leaders, decided to form an organization to address the social service needs of the Filipinos. With the participation of a dozen or so Filipino associations, the Council of Pilipino-American Organizations (COPAO) was born.  

COPAO's original goal: To foster harmony and mutual cooperation among Filipino-American organizations and the community at large. 

COPAO's original objectives: 
  1. Promote understanding of Filipino cultural heritage;
  2. Protect the legitimate interests of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans; 
  3. Expand opportunities for education, health, business, employment and social services; 
  4. Advocate civil rights, equal opportunity and social justice; and  
  5. Build character, integrity, self esteem and a positive image of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. 

Since its inception, COPAO has served as a key resource to the community by: 
  • Providing referral and access services to matters pertaining to their health problems, access to social services, immigration and naturalization, training and job placement and legal problems.
  • Serving as an advocate on issues affecting ethnic minorities and has joined hands with other agencies in its drive for political empowerment. 
  • Collaborating with various agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service to implement the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program; the Community Labor Service to help in the job placement of unemployed or underemployed low income individuals; and the National Asian and Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) to involve the community, particularly Filipino-Americans, in voter registration and in promoting language access to election materials. 
  • Sponsoring bi-monthly Consular Outreach Programs in partnership with the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles providing passport, dual citizenship, and other consular services to the Filipino community of San Diego and nearby areas.

COPAO has been acknowledged on several occasions as the incubator of Operation Samahan Health Clinic, Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC), Samahan Dance Company, Samahan Senior Nutrition Center and AB Samahan. These agencies started as community projects under the aegis of COPAO and then moved on to become independent and progressive non-profit organizations.   

We are proud of our past as an organization, and, with the help of all Filipino-Americans in San Diego County, we are hopeful that our future will be even brighter. Mabuhay!