GOVPH

• Print

 PR 37-2020

29 July 2020, Toronto, Ontario - The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, in collaboration with the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre (KCCC), conducted an online Information Session on the different consular services, as well as SSS and Pag-ibig services, via Zoom on 23 July 2020. KCCC President Mr. Resty del Rosario welcomed the participants and thanked the Philippine Consulate General, Toronto for conducting this year’s Information Session, which started in 2018.

The team was headed by Consul General Orontes V. Castro who expressed his appreciation to KCCC for organizing the online information session and emphasized the importance of such events for the Consulate General to inform and update Filipino-Canadians on the various services it offers the Filipino community, especially on the systems adopted by the office since its reopening to the public on 25 May 2020, after the lockdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also mentioned that KCCC is one of the Consulate General’s partners in serving our kababayans in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Consul Edna May Grecia-Lazaro discussed about notarization and authentication services while Consul Edwin Gil Q. Mendoza talked about passport services. The officers also informed about the need to book an appointment for the different consular services before coming to the Consulate. The effects of reacquiring or retaining Filipino citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225 otherwise known as the “Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003” were also discussed during the Q & A which followed.

Pag-ibig Member Services Officer Ms. Elizabeth Borres talked about the various savings and investment schemes available to overseas Filipinos and ways they can take out loans from Pag-IBIG. SSS Representative Roberto V. Roldan, on the other hand, discussed the process of how to become an SSS voluntary member or otherwise reactivate membership in SSS without need of going home to the Philippines, as well as the seven (7) benefits, from maternity to eternity, being offered by SSS to its members: maternity benefits; sickness or injury benefits; disability pension; retirement pension benefits; dependent’s pension; death pension benefits; and SSS loans. Mr. Roldan informed the participants that SSS pensioners may apply for their pension benefits online. He added that the SSS Toronto office also adopts the appointment system and that it has suspended this year the annual confirmation of membership, as long as members have done so in 2019.

The information session was well-received by the participants, drawing a request from the Kalayaan Centre for another session in the near future.

Initially founded in 1983 as the Kalayaan Filipino Cultural Organization (KFCO) for the purpose of celebrating Philippine Independence Day, the Kalayaan Centre has evolved to become a pillar for promoting Filipino heritage and culture and a community hub for programs and services for the benefit of Filipino-Canadians mostly residing in the Peel region. END

• Print

 PR 35-2020

24 July 2020 - PCG Toronto officials, led by Consul General Orontes Castro and POLO Toronto Labor Officer Rachel Zozobrado-Nagayo, participated in a video conference via ZOOM with Mr. Austine Gaqui, Founding Chairman of the Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA) and Mr. Mark Guinto, Manager, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, Office of the Mayor of Pickering to discuss issues regarding the accreditation of internationally-educated nursing graduates of Filipino ethnic origin in Ontario, Canada on 22 July 2020. The video conference was hosted by the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto (PCG Toronto).

Consul General Castro expressed his gratitude to the participants for their efforts to assist Filipino and Filipino-Canadian nursing graduates become accredited nurses in Ontario. Their accreditation as nurses would not only help address the current demand for health workers in Ontario to address the prevailing public health crisis, but also contribute tremendously to improving the living conditions of nursing graduates and their families.

Labor Officer Zozobrado-Nagayo informed the meeting that POLO Toronto is prepared to provide free language training to the nursing graduates as part of their assistance. The virtual meeting also discussed other issues related to the accreditation process of the nursing graduates. – END

• Print

PR 36-2020

28 July 2020, Toronto, Ontario – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto participated in the online celebration of the largest Filipino-Canadian summer event in the City of Vaughan, dubbed as “Vaughan Fiesta Extravaganza 2020 – Virtual Muna”, which was streamed live on Facebook, Youtube, and all MCBN digital platforms on 18 July 2020, with a replay on 26 July 2020. The event was organized by the Filipino-Canadian Association of Vaughan (FCAV), the MCBN Media Group, and the Canadian Heritage, in cooperation with The Filipino Channel (TFC).

Now on its 3rd year, the Vaughan Fiesta Extravaganza, is an annual summer event that celebrates Filipino Heritage Month and promotes multicultural awareness and appreciation. It also recognizes the achievements of Filipino-Canadians who have contributed tremendously to the socio-economic fabric of Canada. This year’s celebration was dedicated to all the Filipino-Canadian frontline and essential workers, and first responders all over the world, with special mention of Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, who is a Canadian of Filipino descent.

The event started with a prayer, followed by the singing of the Philippine and Canadian national anthems, then the Opening Special message from Vaughan City Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. Other Canadian government officials who also sent in their video messages hailing the many contributions of Filipino-Canadians in their riding, especially the generosity of the spirit of frontline and essential workers during these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, were Minister of Parliament (MP) Peter Kent (Vaughan-Thornhill), Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, Conservative Party Leader Andrew Sheer, and MP Anthony Housefather (Mt. Royal, Montreal Riding).

The video message of Her Excellency Petronila P. Garcia, Philippine Ambassador to Canada, was also featured in the program. In her message, Ambassador Garcia emphasized that the occasion is an opportunity to remember the “members of the Filipino community who count among Canada’s frontline workers and who continue to keep the community safe amidst this pandemic, some of them have made the ultimate sacrifice in fulfillment of their oath to humanity, and we honor them today”.

Consul General Orontes V. Castro likewise participated in the almost 8-hour virtual event with his video message for the Filipino-Canadians. In his remarks, Consul General Castro recognized the achievements of the Filipino-Canadian community and their contributions to the City of Vaughan, as well as the dedication and perseverance of the organizers in bringing the community together through the Fiesta and celebrate Filipino heritage.

The event also featured a tribute to Ms. Erlinda Insigne, the President of FCAV since 1993. It was during her term that the Friendship/Sister City Agreement between the cities of Vaughan and Baguio was signed in 1997. The Educational Exchange Program between the St. Elizabeth Catholic High School in Vaughan and the Baguio City Catholic High School was also established during her term. Under this program, 216 exchange students, parents and teachers went to the Baguio City in July 2000 and 212 exchange students, guardians and teachers from the Philippines visited Vaughan in May 2001.

Other milestones under Ms. Insigne’s term include: the naming of the Philippine Canadian Friendship Parkette; the signing of the City’s grant to FCAV of a 20-year lease of the Patricia Kemp Community Centre, which also later housed the MCBN Media’s Pinoy Radio; the signing of the proclamation of Filipino Day in Vaughan in 2004; and many other fundraising events and programs for seniors.

This year in January, after participating in Winter Escapade 7, Consul General Castro paid a courtesy call on Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong. Also present during the meeting were other officials from Baguio City led by Councillor Leila Sembrano, Ms. Insigne and her husband, Mr. Antonio Insigne. During the meeting, Mayor Magalong emphasized that among his top priorities is the improvement of the economic and cultural ties under the Sister City Twinning Agreement between the City of Baguio and the City of Vaughan. He also presented Consul General Castro with a symbolic key to the City.

MCBN Media Group’s giving back to the community through charity projects in the Philippines, named “Bahay Mo, Sagip Ko”, was also featured during the program.

The celebration showcased non-stop entertainment featuring Filipino talents from different parts of the world. There were home-grown talents from Canada (Toronto, Hamilton, and Montreal), from the USA (New York, New Jersey, and Las Vegas), from Australia (Melbourne), and the Philippines. The fiesta also featured games and prizes from different sponsors were given to the winners. Music videos from the Philippine Department of Tourism and a Philippine band named REtroSPECT, paying tribute to Filipino frontline workers, were also shown in the virtual celebration. –END

• Print

PR 33-2020

16 July 2020, Toronto, Canada – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto hosted a Zoom teleconference on 16 July 2020 with members of the Toronto Organizing Committee (TOC) to discuss updates on the preparations for the celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. The Consulate General and the TOC has had three (3) meetings prior to the declaration of a state of emergency in Toronto brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Present at the virtual meeting were members of the Toronto Organizing Committee (TOC) chaired by Reverend Father Sherwin M. Holandez, Parish Pastor of the Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) Church in Toronto, members of the El Shaddai-DWXI PPFI Toronto Chapter, headed by Council of Elders Sister Theresa Jose, and Mr. Garry Tanuan, Trustee of Ward 8 of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). TCDSB and El Shaddai were invited to the meeting to explore possible areas of cooperation in connection with the religious component of the Quincentennial celebrations in Toronto, as well as to encourage the active participation of young Filipino-Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Rev. Father Holandez mentioned that the Archdiocese of Toronto approved TOC’s taking the lead in the religious component of the quincentenary celebrations in Toronto. Father Holandez also updated the group on the preparations for the launch, as well as the various planned activities leading to the main events for the 2021 Quincentennial celebrations. He also agreed with the proposal to conduct an interfaith prayer to highlight the presence of other denominations and harmony among them in Philippine society. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch, initially scheduled for August 2020, has been moved to 3 October 2020. The kick-off celebration will be a pre-recorded Mass, either at OLA Church or at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, and a short program, which will all be made accessible on YouTube.

Other planned events at the Parish-level are the Living Rosary in October 2020, Simbang Gabi from 16 to 24 December 2020, and Kumpisalang Bayan, Visita Iglesia and Lenten activities in March 2021. Fr. Holandez also mentioned about a Filipino-Canadian Conference on New Evangelization in May 2021, with the theme “Filipino-Canadian Families and Young People Walking with Jesus”, with Fr. Jerry Orbos as proposed speaker, as well as a conference in July 2021 for the Filipino-Canadian religious, consecrated persons and associates, and a Talk with families, youth and lay groups. His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle has been invited as Guest Speaker in this Talk, as well as to celebrate the Mass with the participants. A grand Fiesta sa Nayon featuring food and traditions from different regions of the Philippines is also being planned. TOC is also working on a PH500 Souvenir Program project. A Mass to be celebrated by Cardinal Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto, will be the highlight of the Closing Celebration in August 2021. It was also mentioned that the TOC is in the process of engaging Filipino-Canadian religious and secular communities as event convenors, to assist in the above-mentioned planned events.

Consul General Castro informed the group about a proposed art contest and exhibition depicting the quincentennial jubilee of Christianity, which will be a project of Sentro Rizal Toronto, in collaboration with the TCDSB. The contest and exhibition will be open to students from Catholic elementary and secondary schools in Toronto.

Trustee Tanuan and Sister Jose expressed delight on the opportunity to be a part of the quincentennial celebrations. The former committed to support the TOC in reaching out to the youth, through its 92,000 Catholic students in Toronto and Filipino-Canadian staff in the Board. El Shaddai also pledged support to the celebrations. Sister Jose mentioned that 2021 is also a big year for them as they will host in July 2021 the USA-Canada-Europe El Shaddai Anniversary event. They have invited Bishop Ted Bacani and Brother Mike Velarde from the Philippines.

Consul General Castro ended the meeting with the assurance of the Consulate General’s support and active participation in the events leading up to the Quincentennial commemoration in 2021. END