PR-19-2023
Counter-clockwise from top: Filipino basketball tournament in Morwell; Paraluman Trading/Asian Supermarket and Ai’s Café in Morwel, both owned by Aileen Formaran (center photo in white shirt); and at Weng Weng’s Asian Grocery with owner Rowena Mills (center of rightmost photo) in Bairnsdale, East Gippsland.
On 28-30 July 2023, she embarked on a regional visit to Latrobe Region and East Gippsland Shire where she promoted the services of the Consulate, conducted a rapid assessment/mapping of Filipinos in those regions and lent support to them. “You are the first Philippine government official to come this way,” they told her.
In Morwell, she met with the leaders of the Samahang Pilipino Australians sa Gippsland (SPAG), visited the Asian Supermarket/Paraluman Trading Store owned by Aileen Formoso who also owns a nearby Ai’s Café, and watched a Filipino basketball tournament. “It was a surprise to see many students in Melbourne who go to the regions to work on farms, factories and food outlets,” she said.
Clockwise from top: Explaining the 125th harmonized celebration of Philippine Independence of the Filipino Community in Victoria to MP Tim Bull; Mina Armstrong (center) with Australian friends at the get-together on 30 July; a boat ride with Mina Armstrong and Lulu Lorenzo; some of the Filipino-Australian guests who expressed interest to avail of dual citizenship.
In Bairnesdale, she met Rowena Mills, owner of the biggest Asian grocery called Weng Weng and leader of PinOz in East Gippsland. Her store serves as a meeting place, not only of Filipinos but other Asian migrants as well. The Bairnesdale Regional Health Service, now a hospital, benefitted from the philanthropic efforts in 2009 of Mina Armstrong, a Filipino Community leader in nearby town of Paynesville through her donation of the dialysis center.
Mina Armstrong hosted a dinner attended by some 25 Filipino-Australians and 10 Australian friends of Mina’s, including MP Tim Bull, Member for Bairnsdale of the State Parliament, Joe Rettino, former Mayor of Bairnsdale (2016-2017) and Bob Yeates, publisher of Bairnsdale Advertiser. “I may have only scratched the surface, the Consul General said, “but my visit presented a good dose of goodwill for the government.”
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