PR-27-2024
The Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne and the Migrant Workers’ Office – Canberra deployed two joint outreach missions in October to serve the Filipino Communities in South Australia and Tasmania.
Outreach to South Australia
On 24-26 October 2024, the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne, together with the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Canberra, conducted a Consular Mobile Outreach Mission in Adelaide, delivering a total of 175 consular services. The services rendered included applications for new and renewal of e-Passports, petitions for reacquisition/retention of Philippine citizenship under R.A. 9225, civil registry, notarials and certification. MWO Canberra also processed 70 Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs) during the outreach.
Petitioners for dual citizenship administered by Consul Jan Sherwin P. Wenceslao (center back) with Philippine Consul a.h. Carmen Garcia (center back), witnessing the ceremony.
In addition to the consular services, the outreach included a Town Hall Meeting attended by 25 leaders of the Filipino community. Consul Wenceslao delivered an overview of the services and priorities of the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne and highlighted the Consulate’s commitment to accessible services through regular consular missions to Adelaide and Hobart. He also announced the upcoming 1st Multi-Agency Service Mission (MASM) in Melbourne on 20-21 November 2024, which will bring together the Socia Security Service (SSS), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and MWO, among others, to deliver essential government services.
A town hall meeting was also held with the Filipino Community in Adelaide. Consul Jan Sherwin P. Wenceslao (center), Philippine Labor Attaché Ms. Melissa C. Mendizabal (left) and Honorary Consul Carmen Garcia (right) engaged with the participants.
Consul Wenceslao also encouraged professional and personal development within the Filipino community, noting the recent establishment of professional organizations such as the Society of Filipino Engineers Australia (SFEA), Filipino Australian Lawyers Association of Victoria (FALAW), and Pinoy Tech Australia. He emphasized the importance of strengthening Philippine-Australian partnerships, particularly in education, trade, and skills development. Details of upcoming cultural events, including Pasko sa Melbourne on 8 December and the Adobo and Barbecue Festival in Q1 2025, were shared to foster unity and engagement within the Filipino community.
Labor Attaché Melissa C. Mendizabal, who recently assumed her role at the MWO in Canberra, briefed the attendees on the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW)’s role in facilitating overseas employment and reintegration of Filipino workers. She highlighted programs like the AKSYON Fund and reintegration initiatives aimed at empowering and protecting OFWs, aligning with national development goals.
The joint session was well-received, with participants expressing appreciation for the information shared and a commitment to disseminate the updates to their fellow Filipinos in South Australia.
Filipino community leaders in Adelaide together with Consul Jan Sherwin P. Wenceslao (3rd from right), Labor Attaché Ms. Melissa C. Mendizabal (4th from left) and Honorary Consul Carmen Garcia (2nd from right) during the Town Hall meeting in Adelaide, 26 October 2024
Outreach to Tasmania
Earlier on 12 and 13 October 2024, a Consular Mobile Outreach Team traveled to Hobart, Tasmania and rendered a total of 39 consular services, including application for new and renewal of e-Passports, and petitions for reacquisition/retention of Philippine citizenship under R.A. 9225 and certification.
In addition, the team engaged 12 leaders of the Filipino Community in Tasmania for ATN mapping in a Town Hall meeting and conferred with the PH Honorary Consul on living and working conditions of overseas Filipinos in Tasmania. MWO-Canberra also processed 5 issuances of Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC).
Petitioners for dual citizenship take their oath before Consul Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez (far right); witnessing the ceremony are Philippine Consul a.h. Rick Van Neutegem (3rd from right) and Cultural Officer Cristina Malvas (2nd from right)
During the Town Hall meeting, Consul a.h. Rick van Neutegem of the Philippine Consulate in Hobart delivered the welcome remarks and thanked the team for providing key consular services to the community in Australia. Consul Ralph Vincent C. Abarquez of the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne addressed the group and gave a briefing on the activities of the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne, including a recap of the visit of President Marcos to Australia last February 2024, which invigorated PH-AU relations under its recently signed strategic partnership, as well as the President’s thrust of Bagong Pilipinas.
MWO-Canberra Administrative Staff Julienne Cavida provided the group with an abridged Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar for workers. She detailed the instances in which specific Australian Visa Categories require the issuance of an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).
A town hall meeting was also held with the Filipino Community in Tasmania. MWO-Canberra Administrative Staff Julienne Cavida (3rd from right) gave a briefing on the services of MWO to the participants
The session as a whole was well-received, and the participants expressed their appreciation for all the information, and they also volunteered to echo the information they learned to their fellow Filipinos in Tasmania.
The Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne holds consular jurisdiction over Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Outreach activities are conducted to be able to serve Filipinos who may not be able to travel to Melbourne for consular services. END
