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PR-2021-36

13 July 2021, Toronto, Canada. – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto joined the Philippines in the celebration of July as National Disaster Resilience Month. A simple ceremony was held during the Consulate General’s flag-raising ceremony on Monday, 12 July 2021 to celebrate the occasion.

Immediately after the flag-raising and Panunumpa sa Watawat ceremonies and recitation of the DFA Foreign Policy, Consul General Orontes V. Castro gave brief remarks on the significance of the occasion. This year’s theme, “Tamang Pamamahala’t Kahandaan, Kaalaman at Pagtutulungan sa Sakuna at Pandemya’y Kalasag ng Bayan”, emphasizes the important role of Disaster Risk Governance. It also highlights the significance of “bayanihan” or collaboration between Filipinos to overcome the challenges of the current pandemic and build a green and resilient normal.

The month of July was designated as National Disaster Resilience Month throughout the country based on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Memorandum No. 61 S. of 2021 and Executive Order No. 29 s. 2017.

The official electronic banner for the occasion was uploaded on the Consulate General’s official website and Facebook page, as well as in the television situated in the Consular Area where its clientele can see it. -END

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PR-2021-34

Toronto, 13 July 2021 – On 09 July 2021, Philippine Consul General Orontes V. Castro inducted the newly-installed Officers and Board of Directors for the term 2021-2022 of the Association of Filipino Canadian Engineers (AFCE) during the organization’s Annual General Membership Assembly via Zoom.

Consul General Castro congratulated the new set of Officers and Board of Directors of AFCE and welcomed the new members (recently-licensed Filipino-Canadian Engineers for 2020-2021) to the organization. He lauded AFCE as an active and reliable partner of the Consulate General in implementing worldwide programs and activities for Filipinos in Toronto, especially in mentoring newly-arrived Filipinos to adapt and settle in Canada. He also mentioned that AFCE is one of the Consulate General’s valuable partner in working for the accreditation of Filipino professionals, as well as in the recognition of their qualifications and credentials in Canada. He mentioned that AFCE, by the very nature of the profession, makes differences. He added that at its core, the profession is about building values. He advised the general membership to continue making a difference in the world and be builders not only of edifices but also of human values. He thanked AFCE for inviting him as Inducting Officer and looks forward to meeting the new officers and directors soon, as Ontario enters Stage 3 and reopens on 16 July 2021.

The highlight of the online event was the Induction of the newly-installed Officers and Board of Directors, as well as the newly licensed engineers. The new officers sworn-in by Consul General Castro were Mr. Lervin Adap, P.Eng (President), Mr. Dave Estrella, P.Eng, (Vice-President), Ms. Mary Pauline Cahucom (Secretary), Ms. Elizah Joi Lopez (Treasurer), among others.

AFCE, a non-profit organization founded in 2003, aims to bridge connections and bring together engineering professionals with Filipino lineage and living in Canada, towards a common goal of helping one another to improve their skills and qualifications, as well as guide and mentor aspiring engineers so they can achieve their career goals. AFCE was re-launched on 27 January 2019. – END

 

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PR-2021-35

14 July 2021, Toronto, Ontario – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto is pleased to convey its congratulations to Filipino Canadian Dr. Patrick Alcedo’s short documentary film “They Call Me Dax” for winning the Best Short Documentary at the Cannes Indies Cinema Awards.

“They Call Me Dax” is a documentary on a 15-year-old student in the Philippines who is trying to survive as a ballet dancer. The film is now an official nominee in another online festival, Phoenix Shorts in Toronto wherein the jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings. To date, Dr. Alcedo has directed, written, and produced nine (9) films. “They Call Me Dax” along with his two (2) other new documentary films -- the full-length film “A Will to Dream” and the short film “Am I Being Selfish” -- were all funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant and the Canada Council for the Arts. “A Will to Dream” is an official entry in the Chicago Indie Film Awards.

 

Cannes International Indies Cinema Festival is an independent online film festival dedicated to celebrating and awarding indie films of all genres. It supports independent filmmakers and screenwriters of all genres who are inspired by the language of cinema and seek breakthroughs in their career in order to make it to important film festivals such as Cannes. It is inspired by the importance of Cannes Film Festival hence naming their festival after the most important cinematic place in the history of cinema and film festivals. It believes that in this new era of filmmaking, film festivals need to be more creative in order to create programs which support indie artists and film projects. The festival selects and awards films for various categories of each edition.

During this year’s celebration of the 123rd Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto featured its Quincentennial Awardees during the virtual program on 12 June 2021, which included Dr. Alcedo. The formal presentation of the award was held on 9 July 2021. He was given the award in recognition of his invaluable and continued support to the Filipino community and the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto. Dr. Alcedo was the Artistic Director in the Consulate General’s “INDAK” Dance and Musical Concert on 23 June 2018 and his film “A Piece of Paradise” had a Special Screening at the Consulate General on 8 March 2019 in celebration of National Women’s Month and International Women’s Day. His other film “Dancing Manilenyos” was featured during the Consulate General’s Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa activity in August 2020.

Dr. Alcedo was born and raised in Andagao, Aklan in the Philippines to a family of dancers and musicians and a graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Dr. Alcedo is the director, writer, and producer of six documentary films. His feature-length film, A Piece of Paradise, received support from Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in the 2017 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, bagged both the “Centennial Best Canadian Film Award” and the “National Bank First Feature Film Award”—the first film in the festival’s 20-year history to have garnered such back-to-back win.

Officially selected at 2 international film festivals, including the Ethnografilm in Paris, France, his other film, Dancing Manilenyos, a 20-minute documentary about the plight of underprivileged ballet dancers in Manila, won an Impact Doc Award, a Spotlight Documentary Film Award, and a Hollywood International Independent Documentary Award. Dancing Manilenyos was also selected to be screened at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

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09 July 2021, Toronto, Ontario – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto presented today the Consul General’s Quincentennial Awards to nine (9) individual awardees and four (4) Settlement Organizations, in a simple ceremony at the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto. Health measures and protocols were observed during the awarding ceremony.

The awardees were:
Individual Awardees:

1. Mr. Ron Michael Adea – Filipino Canadian pianist
2. Dr. Patrick Alcedo – Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director, Department of Dance, York University
3. Ms. Renee Fajardo – Mezzo Soprano, College of Music, University of Toronto
4. Mr. Jose Dominick Guballa – University of Toronto Ph.D. Student in Earth Science
5. Mr. Rodolfo Lastimosa, Jr. – Elected Member, Council of the College of Nurses of Ontario
6. Dr. Mark Mabanglo – Department of Biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
7. Sir Ignacio “Mogi” Mogado – Artist/Sculptor of the life-size statue of Dr. Jose P. Rizal at Luneta Gardens in Markham, Ontario
8. Mr. Clyde Pacis – CEO, Max’s Restaurant and President, The Paper Crane & Co.
9. Atty. Ryan Tuazon – Regional Director, Anderson College of Health, Business & Technology

Settlement Organizations Awardees:

1. Agincourt Community Services – represented by Ms. Jamillah T. Mananghaya-Poernama, Senior Manager
2. Catholic Community Services of York Region – represented by Ms. Liezl Mirabona-Chavez, Settlement Counsellor
3. Kababayan Multicultural Centre – represented by Ms. Flordeliz Dandal, Executive Director
4. North York Community House – represented by Ms. Ellan Tan, Community Settlement Worker

The settlement organizations and individual awardees were recognized for their invaluable effort and activities and continued support to the Filipino Community and the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto. The official announcement of the Awardees was made on 12 June 2021 during the live streaming of the Consulate General’s Virtual Programme celebrating the 123rd Anniversary of Philippine Independence, the Filipino Heritage Month, and the Quincentennial Commemoration of the Philippines 2021. The Awardees at the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto on 09 July 2021