[2][3] A grandson of a band master in the royal court, General Fernandez's Filipino roots traces back to San Narciso in the Philippine province of Zambales.
Among them was Ángel Labrador Fernández, a native of San Narciso, and a maestro who helped form and train the Royal Reed and Brass Band for King Norodom's court.
Ángel's son, Samson, briefly joined the teaching service and was naturalized as a French subject in 1915 and took up law studies, and by 1928 was appointed as a local magistrate.
In the 1940s, he co-founded the Liberal Party along with Prince Norindeth, and was elected to parliament in 1951 and served under various ministry portfolios, notably became the Health and Justice Minister of Cambodia in the 1950s and 1960s.
Several others officials such as Long Boret, Lon Non and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak remained in office until the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, thinking that they would be spared through the intercession of Norodom Sihanouk, who had sided with the communists.