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PR 64-2020

16 October 2020, Toronto, Ontario – On 13 October 2020, during its flag-raising ceremony, the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto participated in the commemoration of the 17th Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Week. Consul General Orontes V. Castro led the celebration by giving a brief message on the relevance of the celebration.

The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Week, with the theme, “Converse. Control. Connect”, is celebrated from 11-18 October 2020.

Below are some photos taken during the activity.

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PR 49-2020

8 September 2020, Toronto, Ontario – The Officers and Staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto participated in the webinar entitled, “Managing Cyber Security Risk Part 2”, organized by the Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants (AFCA) on 02 September 2020.

During this times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino-Canadian community organizations organize and offer free webinars, which the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto is taking advantage of to equip its personnel with knowledge and skills that are beneficial for self-development, as well as for improvement of public service, especially in assisting distressed Filipinos in its jurisdiction.

The AFCA webinar attended by the Consulate General is beneficial not only for the office but the office personnel as well. The lecture and Q&A dealt with topics as managing cybersecurity risk in typical personal and business scenarios, and awareness and understanding of cybersecurity threats of popular applications, TikTok, and digital communications. Topics like cyber security insurance, data encryption, phishing via email, phone and on-site visit, and the importance of getting sound advice from an Information Technology (IT) Specialist, were also discussed.

As Consul General Orontes V. Castro said in his remarks before the lecture started, the webinar comes on a very opportune time as everyone and everything is going virtual during these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also mentioned, “Our reliance on social media, networks, computers, programs, and data have all contributed to our vulnerability to cyber threats. This is the reason why we should be adequately informed on how to manage cyber security risks.”

The resource speaker, Ms. Joyce Harkness, is a graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. She is a tech leader based in Australia. She is the Executive Director of the Harkness Leadership Edge, Group Executive & CIO of the Avant Mutual, and a 204 Telsra Businesswomen Awardee.

AFCA is a non-profit organization of Filipino accounting professionals based in Toronto with about 1,000 members. It is affiliated with the National Council of Philippine American Canadian Accountants (NCPACA) and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). As a way of giving back to the community, the organization is actively involved in the free income tax preparation programme of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for seniors and low-income group. It also helps train new immigrants on computerized bookkeeping. Some of its members are also actively involved with other Filipino-Canadian organizations in their individual capacities, especially in the field of finance and audit.

Consul General Orontes V. Castro thanked the resource speaker for the valuable information imparted to those who attended the webinar, especially the Philippine Consulate General personnel. He also expressed appreciation to AFCA for the helpful, practical, and effective projects and services being offered by the organization to the Filipino-Canadian community in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Another AFCA webinar is scheduled again soon and will likewise be attended by the Philippine Consulate General Toronto personnel.

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PR- 63-2020
13 October 2020, Toronto, Ontario – Sentro Rizal Toronto of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto hosted a Zoom webinar with Dr. Eileen de Villa, Chief Medical Officer of Health of Toronto Public Health of the City of Toronto, titled “Briefing on Recent Developments on COVID-19” on 09 October 2020. The Consulate General saw it fitting to organize a follow-up briefing to Dr. Eileen de Villa’s “Talk on the Novel Corona Virus Situation in Toronto”, which was held at the Philippine Consulate General on 13 February 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic.

The virtual briefing on the recent developments on the COVID-19 pandemic comes at an opportune time as the Province of Ontario was beginning to experience a resurgence of cases and the Thanksgiving (12 October) long weekend was forthcoming. To ensure more viewership, the Consulate General live streamed the webinar in its Facebook page and linked it as well to the Filipino Canadian radio and television stations who joined.

The virtual briefing on the recent developments on the COVID-19 pandemic comes at an opportune time as the Province of Ontario was beginning to experience a resurgence of cases and the Thanksgiving (12 October) long weekend was forthcoming. To ensure more viewership, the Consulate General live streamed the webinar in its Facebook page and linked it as well to the Filipino Canadian radio and television stations who joined. 

In his welcome remarks, Consul General Castro expressed the very essence of the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday by thanking everyone who joined the webinar, especially Dr. de Villa for graciously accepting the invitation to serve as the Resource Speaker for the webinar. He mentioned that the briefing is part of the Consulate General’s efforts to continuously equip the Filipino Canadian community with the right information regarding the COVID-19 situation in Toronto. Consul General Castro also took the opportunity to “recognize our kababayan nurses, personal support workers and caregivers who are among the brave frontliners in the fight against the perilous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”. “Our brave frontliners, as well as their co-frontliners, never wavered in their commitment to serve and care for the vulnerable members of society, even dispensing personal safety so that others may be spared of the pernicious effects of the pandemic”, he added.

Deputy Consul General Edna May G. Lazaro introduced the guest speaker while Ms. Catherine Dimalanta of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Toronto (POLO Toronto) moderated the webinar.

Before starting her briefing, Dr. de Villa thanked the Philippine Consulate General for the invitation to speak with her fellow Filipino Canadians and share updates on the relatively new virus which caused the unprecedented global pandemic. She appreciated the opportunity to interact with the community and advise on what people can do to keep themselves and their families safer, especially because of the steady and very concerning increase in the number of people who have contracted the virus in the city for the past several weeks. She also said that based on data, there has already been almost 2,000 cases in the city in the last 8 days, which is almost 10% of all the cases that Toronto had so far since the beginning of the pandemic, proving that the city has an immediate rising risk of continued and significant COVID-19 resurgence.

Dr. de Villa shared the advice she has been offering over the last several days and weeks, on limiting contact, as much as possible, to the people in one’s household, especially that the Thanksgiving weekend is forthcoming. She admitted that it was hard for her to offer the advice because she knows that nobody wants to really stay away from extended family and friends during holidays, especially with Filipino culture. But she stressed that “we need to make really hard choices right now in order to preserve the safest environment possible for everyone on a go-forward basis”. She added, “and that’s why I have been asking people and I will ask you again today as we approach the Thanksgiving celebrations… please don’t hold the big Thanksgiving dinner, limit your Thanksgiving celebration… give thanks only with those people that you live with; and for those who live alone, the safest option to celebrate Thanksgiving with others is to actually join family or friends virtually, just like we’re doing here tonight”. She also emphasized, “I would rather that we change our plans for this one Thanksgiving, for safety sake, rather than finding ourselves in a place where we’re looking back at Thanksgiving 2020, with regret, and wishing that we had done something different. At the end of the day, the most powerful weapon that we have against the COVID-19, our greatest strength in dealing with COVID-19, is YOU, every single person here in the City of Toronto”.

At the Q&A, queries on the possibility of a second lockdown, contingency plans and measures for Toronto COVID-19 hotspots, isolation centres, vaccine against the virus, as well as the importance of the flu shot, among others were addressed by Dr. de Villa. Regarding the seasonal flu, she was happy to note that all the preventive measures that they advise people to take on and to adopt in order to prevent COVID-19 also happen to be really good at preventing influenza. Hence, following the self-protection measures and using the flu shot, is immensely powerful in terms of protecting one’s health and the health of others.

In closing, Dr. de Villa said, “Every single one of your efforts makes a difference… in our community, in protecting health, and… in saving lives; every single action you take brings us one step closer to getting more of the hours of our lives back… I just want to thank each and every one of you for doing your part to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, by following public health advice, by staying informed, and by participating in virtual events like this one in order to keep yourself informed.”

Members of the Filipino Canadian community posted in the webinar’s Chat Room, their expression of appreciation for Dr. de Villa’s dedication and commitment in protecting the three million Torontonians. They thanked her for the great job she is doing at Toronto Public Health in this unprecedented time, as well as for taking time to keep the community abreast and informed. They also wished for her to stay safe and healthy. The community also thanked the Philippine Consulate General for organizing the highly informative webinar.

After the very informative briefing of Dr. de Villa, moderator Ms. Dimalanta presented and read the Certificate of Appreciation signed by Consul General Castro, recognizing Dr. de Villa’s selfless commitment in leading the Toronto Public Health in providing public health programs and services, as well as for her support for the Philippine Consulate General’s projects and activities.

At his closing remarks, Consul General Castro thanked Dr. de Villa for sharing invaluable information and advices on the recent developments on the COVID-19 virus and health regulations of the City of Toronto. He reiterated that there is no better source of information on the state of the pandemic than from the expert herself. He added, “With you around, we know we will be very safe in the city with the ongoing pandemic”. The Consul General also thanked Ms. Catherine Dimalanta for moderating the webinar. Lastly, he expressed appreciation to the sixty-one (61) people who attended the webinar – leaders and members of the Filipino Canadian community, including the media, the young Filipino Canadians, the personnel of the Philippine Consulate General and its attached government offices, as well as the 1,300 people who watched the live streaming.

The webinar will continue to be available in the official Facebook page of the Consulate General so the public and those who were not able to join can access and watch it.  As of this date, there are already 4,800 views, 2191 engagements, 89 shares, and 101 likes of the briefing by Dr. de Villa (48.01 minutes) in the Consulate General’s Facebook page.  A complete version of the webinar (55.11 minutes), with the Opening Remarks of Consul General Castro, the Introduction of Dr. de Villa, and followed by the Briefing itself, was also uploaded in Facebook, and has now 494 views , 144 engagements, 5 shares, and 14 likes. -END

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PR-62-2020

5 October 2020 Toronto, Ontario – On 30 September 2020, Philippine Consul General Orontes V. Castro inducted the newly-installed Officers and Directors of the Bicol Canadian Community Association (BCCA) for the term 2020-2021 at the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto. The induction and oathtaking ceremony was planned for early this year but was postponed due to the current restrictions brought about by the pandemic.

The Program of the Oathtaking Ceremony was opened by Master of Ceremonies Ms. Jennifer Amaranto, BCCA’s Secretary, followed by the singing of the Canadian and Philippine national anthems, and then the Invocation led by one of the directors, Ms. Gidget dela Torre. BCCA Treasurer Mr. Jose Gutierrez welcomed everyone to the event while incumbent and re-elected President Mr. Earl Francis Dacara introduced the Guest Speaker and Inducting Officer Consul General Orontes V. Castro.

Consul General Castro lauded the organization as one of the oldest Filipino organizations. He narrated his wonderful memories with the Bicol Associations in countries where he was previously posted – in Chicago and New York. He also commended the initiatives of the BCCA in helping not only the Bicolanos in Toronto, but also in the Philippines, specifically in the recent magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit Cataingan, Masbate on 18 August 2020. He also mentioned the devotion of the Bicolanos to “INA” Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia (Our Lady of Peñafrancia). Consul General Castro attended the culminating Holy Mass celebrating the Feast Day of Our Lady of Peñafrancia which was held on 19 September 2020 at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church.

BCCA Adviser Mr. Rafael Nebres gave his Inspirational Message to all the newly-elected Officers and Directors of the organization. Mr. Nebres was the former President of the organization for so many years before he retired and passed the baton to Mr. Dacara in 2018. Mr. Nebres said that he is very much confident that with the leadership of Mr. Dacara, BCCA will be successful in bringing to Canada, one at a time, all the six (6) provinces in Bicol – Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sir, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon.

After the Induction Ceremony, incumbent president Mr. Dacara gave his message thanking the Consul General for accepting their invitation to be their Guest Speaker and Induction Officer and allowing them to hold the oathtaking at the Consulate General, but mindful of and following the guidelines and restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Dacara likewise mentioned the upcoming projects of BCCA which they will link with the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations of the Philippines, as well as the Quincentenary Jubilee of Christianity in the Philippines in 2021. The projects, among others, are the “HISTOBICOL” program, as well as the 2021 Peñafrancia Festival which will be celebrated through a fluvial or boat processions around Bluffers Park Lane in Scarborough, Ontario and a Holy Mass at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Toronto.