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12 February 2020 – Consul General Orontes Castro paid a courtesy call on Vaughan City Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua on 10 February 2020 at the Mayor’s Office.

During the visit, Consul General Castro expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Mayor Bevilacqua for the latter’s support to the thriving Filipino-Canadian community based in the city, which has grown to about 5% of the total estimated city population of more than 300,000. He also mentioned the strong linkages between the cities of Baguio and Vaughan, enhanced by a sister city agreement signed by both cities’ Mayors in 1997 and which has helped promote social, cultural and educational exchanges between them.

Consul General Castro proposed some cultural and economic initiatives that could further deepen relations between Vaughan City and the Philippines. Mayor Bevilacqua stated that he looks forward to working with Consul General Castro to move forward the very strong partnerships between the cities of Baguio and Vaughan.

Mayor Bevilacqua was first elected Mayor of Vaughan City in 2010 and is presently serving his third term. -END

Philippine Consul General Orontes Castro with Vaughan City Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua at the Mayor’s Office on 10 February 2020. (Photo by PCG Toronto)

Consul General Castro presents SGV and Co.’s publication on “Doing Business in the Philippines” to Mayor Bevilacqua. (Photo by PCG Toronto)

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11 February 2020- Consul General Orontes Castro and Consul Edwin Gil Mendoza met with Professor Rhonda Lenton, President of York University, in North York, Toronto on 07 February 2020. The meeting also involved Vinitha Gengatharan, Executive Director, and Helen Balderama, Associate Director, International Partnerships and Programs, of said university.

In the meeting, current and future projects and programs of York University involving Filipino academicians in said university as well as projects in the Philippines were discussed. Consul General Castro expressed his support for these initiatives and also recommended pursuing other programs in various fields, including disaster risk reduction and management, climate change, migration and refugee studies, smart cities, and cultural exchanges.

After the meeting, Consul General Castro gave a brief talk to graduate students and faculty members of York University on “The Philippines and York University: Towards a Closer Academic and Community Partnership”. He described the current economic performance of the Philippines and the different areas where Philippine universities and government institutions and York University can work on.

He also met with student officers of the Filipino Students Association at York University and invited them to events at the Consulate. -END

Consul General Orontes Castro with Dr. Rhonda Lenton, York University President during a meeting on 07 February 2020. (Photo by PCG Toronto)

Consul General Castro delivers his talk on “The Philippines and York University: Towards a Closer Academic and Community Partnership”. (Photo by PCG Toronto)

Consul General Orontes Castro (5th from R), Consul Edwin Gil Mendoza (4th from L), Dr. Patrick Alcedo (4th from R), Helen Balderama (1st from R), and Vinitha Gengatharan (3rd from R) together with York University graduate and undergraduate students. (photo courtesy of Helen Balderama)

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Toronto, 13 February 2020- Mr. Jose Dominick Santos Guballa, a Filipino Ph.D. student in Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto, held a talk on “Taal and Other Philippine Volcanoes: An Overview” at the premises of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto on 12 February 2020.

In his welcome remarks, Consul General Orontes Castro explained that the talk is part of the Consulate’s information campaign for the Filipino Community in Ontario on important developments in the Philippines, such as the recent eruption of Taal Volcano and its impact on society.

Mr. Guballa provided a general overview of the scientific reasons for the existence of volcanoes in the Philippines, causes of volcanic eruptions and difficulties in predicting such eruptions, the prevalence of earthquakes in the country, the concept of tectonic plates, a brief history of known eruptions of Taal Volcano dating back to 1572, and the excellent work of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in monitoring and disseminating important information about the Taal eruption to communities near the volcano and the general public.

The event was attended by Filipino-Canadian community leaders and members, particularly those from provinces with known active volcanoes, e.g., Mayon Volcano in Albay, officials from PCG Toronto and attached agencies, the clergy and academics from York University. Most of them expressed appreciation for the important scientific information on volcanoes, specifically on Taal Volcano, that were clearly explained by Mr. Guballa. -END

Philippine Consul General Orontes Castro delivers his Welcome Remarks on the talk by Mr. Dominick Guballa on “Taal and Philippine Volcanoes: An Overview” (Photo by PCG Toronto)

Mr. Guballa delivers his talk on volcanoes in the Philippines at the Philippine Consulate General on 12 February 2020. (Photo by PCG Toronto)

Consul General Orontes Castro (5th from R) and Mr. Dominick Guballa, Guest Speaker (6th from R) are joined by Deputy Consul General Edna May Lazaro (1st from L), Consul Edwin Gil Mendoza (2nd from L), Mrs. Monina Lim-Serrano, President, Federation of Filipino-Canadians-Ontario, (3rd from L), Dr. Eric Kennedy, Assistant Professor at York University, Earl Francis Dacara, President of the Bicol Canada Community Association (BCCA) (3rd from L), and other members of the Filipino-Canadian community in Toronto.

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14 February 2020, Toronto-The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto invited Dr. Eileen De Villa to brief the Filipino community on the novel corona virus situation in Toronto yesterday, 13 February 2020, at the consular area of the Philippine Consulate.

A child of Filipino immigrants, Dr. De Villa is the Medical Officer of Health of the Toronto Public Health, Canada’s largest local public health agency that provides public health programs and service to 2.9 million residents in Toronto.

13 February 2020, Toronto-Dr. Eileen De Villa, the Medical Officer of Health of the Toronto Public Health briefs the Filipino community on the novel corona virus situation in Toronto. The talk was organized by and held at the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto.

This briefing is part of the Consulate’s efforts to equip the Filipino community and the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General and its attached agencies with the right information regarding the novel corona virus situation in Toronto. In her talk, Dr. De Villa said “in the face of uncertainty, it is important for the community to be equipped with facts and the right information.” She emphasized that “at this time, the risk presented by this new corona virus to our community here in Toronto is low.”

Dr. Eileen De Villa (middle) is flanked on her right by Consul General Orontes V. Castro. The audience included leaders in the Filipino community, settlement organizations and the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto.

Dr. De Villa also discussed the measures being taken by the local government in coordination with the Federal public health department in the face of this new corona virus or what is now known as COVID-19. She further discussed ways by which the people can protect themselves from contracting the said virus and other respiratory ailments. She likewise cautioned the audience about the fallacies circulating in social media about the coronavirus. She ended her talk with this reminder “keep yourself informed but make sure that your source is credible”. She then gave the contact details of Toronto Public Health in case the audience need to verify information regarding this public health issue. END.