The picnic is being organised by the Campbelltown’s Rizal Park Movement in conjunction with the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney.

The event is also an occasion for those who will attend to help in a fund-raising campaign for the victims of Typhoon Washi (Sendong) that severely hit Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City days before Christmas last month.

The picnic is the start of the Consulate’s activities with the community for the new year, said Consul-General Anne Jalando-on Louis.

“The Consulate plans to work even more closely with the Filipino Community in New South Wales this year on activities that will highligh the richness of Philippine history, culture and traditions as well as our strengths as a country and people,” Consul-General Louis added.

The day’s activities will begin with a eucharistic celebration to be held at the Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church located at 80 Demetrius Road, Rosemeadow, Campbelltown at 10am.

This will be followed by blessing of the Rizal Park grounds and a brief program at 11:30am, then lunch and traditional Filipino games.

The Campbelltown Rizal Park is a two-minute walk from the church.

Improvements in the Campbelltown Rizal Park had been undertaken by the Campbelltown City Council in coordination with the Rizal Park Movement.

A 5-metre Rizal statue donated by reknowned Filipino sculptor-artist Eduardo Castrillo will be installed at the conclusion of the national hero’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary in June this year.

Consul General Louis (seated, second from left) and Education Sec. Armin Luistro (seated, fourth from left) with other education officials and some forum participants //Photo: Violi Calvert

The campaign’s mission translated in the Filipino language is: 10 piso, 10 buwan, 10 libong silid-aralan! The Forum was attended by more than 60 Filipino-Australian community leaders and members of the Filipino-Australian media.

The guest speakers at the Forum were the Secretary of Education Armin Luistro, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Deputy Director General Teodoro Pascua, Department of Education Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo, and Ms. Lotus Postrado, Project Development Officer and Evaluation Division and Desk Officer – International Cooperation Office, Department of Education.

Consul-General Anne Jalando-on Louis welcomed and thanked everyone for attending the forum. She extended special welcome to the Philippine delegation and expressed her optimism that the Filipino-Australian community would give its support to the campaign which will benefit thousands of school children.

First to speak was Mr Pascua who set the scene for his message by referring to the Greek words “chronos” meaning time and “kyros” meaning now which can not be stopped. Mr Pascua emphasised the time for the change in the development in education and the time for Filipinos to be involved in effecting the change is now. He injected a good sense of humour in reinforcing his message. He spoke of the Filipinos being everywhere in the world; he does not consider them to be “in exile” rather they are a part of a ‘grand conspiracy’ – for Filipinos to take over the world.

Dr Patricia Licuanan highlighted the key results that CHED is working towards: the rationalisation of higher education by reviewing the existence of 110 universities and 400 nursing schools with the aim of making them to be more effective and efficient; improvement of the quality of education as while there are pockets of excellence, there exists mediocrity that needs to be addressed; expanding access to quality education by the poor; improving transparency in the system.

Secretary Luistro shared with the group that he was vocal against the past administration and now he has been given the opportunity to put into place initiatives which he believed should have been undertaken to benefit the young people. He explained his belief that education is about investing on the country’s real resource which is its people. He also emphasised that with the latest initiative, it is not the aim to engage the rich and famous, rather it is to sign up and engage 2 million Filipinos. He firmly believes that “as one, we can work together to achieve any goals”.

After the talks by the Philippine delegation, a Question and Answer session was held. The questions related to costing of the classrooms, transparency, role of Ayala Foundation and issues relating to public-private-partnership (PPP).

The delegation received pledges from the Filipino community associations present. The first to pledge was the Australian Philippine Association Illawarra Inc. The other pledges received that night were from the Philippine Community Council – NSW, Atoy and Tess Sayas, Nenita Weekes and Primitiva Cruz West. The representative of BPI, Rey Manoto, announced that the fee for telegraphic transfer to BPI account for the campaign will be waived.

Consul General Louis advised the group that a media release will be issued to detail the mechanism on how individuals and organisations based in Australia could make their donation which is set at $10 per month.

Consul General Louis announcing the start of the survey in last night's first biannual meeting

The survey, an initiative of the Consulate to establish comprehensive baseline data on Filipinos in NSW, aims to gather baseline data to help generate general information on the number and location of Filipino migrants in NSW and their profile like age, gender, occupation. It will run until 31 December 2011, and will be conducted every two years.

Consul General encouraged “All Filipinos, temporary or permanent residents in Australia, holders of work or spouse visas, Filipinos who have become naturalised Australians, and Australians of Filipino ancestry… to participate in the survey.”

Consul Reyes walking the audience through the survey form

The survey form is available online at the Consulate’s website. Hardcopies of the survey form are also available from Philippine-related community organisations in NSW which are also subject of a separate part in the survey.

Consul General Louis said that the survey implements a Department of Foreign Affairs global campaign for Philippine overseas missions to have “updated and accurate data on Filipinos overseas for use in its disaster and emergency prepareness program.”

The launch was attended by sixty-five Filipino Australian community leaders, ten media representatives of Philippine media in NSW and several guests.

Some members of the Filipino community and guests before the presentation

Only a minute or two to complete the survey

Meantime, we tested the online survey and noted that it is actually very brief as Consul Reyes assured us last night. It took us only a little more than one minute to enter and submit the required information.

To participate in the survey, please click here.

The Consulate added, “Foreign Affairs Albert F. del Rosario has stressed that streamlining the electronic passport system is a top priority of the Department.”

Persons who lodged their passport applications in June or earlier can find out if their new passport is ready for collection by visiting the consulate’s website at www.philippineconsulate.com.au, the Consulate said.

The advisory, transmitted to this website by the Philippine Consulate General in a press release, outlines 10 points that Filipinos should consider, namely:

* The traveler carries drugs at personal risk.

* The traveler must take full responsibility of his or her actions.

* Knowledge and intent are not a requirement for drug trafficking.

* The traveler must be vigilant of the modus operandi of drug courier syndicates.

* In the unfortunate event of arrest or detention for drug trafficking, the traveler must have presence of mind and not resist arrest.

* In the unfortunate event of arrest or detention for drug trafficking, the traveler should assert legal rights, inquire about legal remedies, and request consular assistance from the Philippine Embassy or Consulate.

* The presumption of innocence will always apply.

* The laws of the country of arrest will apply.

* If sentenced, the Philippine Government can be of limited assistance.

* “Blood money”, or reparational payment demanded in some cultures of a person guilty of a very grave crime, cannot be paid to erase the liability of a person convicted of a crime involving illegal drugs.

Secretary de Lima said that it is not a valid legal defense that a carrier of a package did not know that it contains illegal drugs or that there was no intention to commit a crime.

Filipino travelers are therefore advised to be very cautious when approached by strangers who make a request to carry a package for them.

Secretary de Lima also stated that the Philippine Government can only offer limited assistance to persons arrested for carrying or possessing illegal drugs.

“The laws of the country of arrest will apply to the traveler, and the Philippine Government cannot interfere with the internal affairs of other countries.

”The best that the Philippine Government can do is to assist in the protection of your rights and arrange for your legal defense. Outside of these, the Government cannot insist on the provision of a different treatment that the law of that country provides,” added Secretary de Lima.

Ambassador De Leon (left) calls on South Australian Governor Scarce

The Philippine Embassy in Canberra reported recently that a labor delegation had successful exploratory talks with Australian officials from November 23 to 28.

The group talked with the Australian officials in Canberra regarding the training and deployment of Philippine nurses to Australia, and putting the finishing touches to a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Labor Cooperation between the Philippines and South Australia (SA).

The meetings were held as a follow-up to the agreement between the Governments of Australia and the Philippines during the Second Philippines-Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM2) held in Manila in October 2008.

Comprising the delegation were Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Deputy Administrator Viveca Catalig, and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Commissioner Ruth Padilla.

They were accompanied for the duration of their visit by Philippine Ambassador to Australia Ernesto H. De Leon and Vice Consul Alexander N. Go.

Hitting the ground running, the Philippine labor delegation met with officials of the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Council which are all based in Canberra.

(L-R) PRC Commissioner Ruth Padilla, POEA Deputy Administrator Viveca Catalig, DOLE Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz, DTED Executive Director David Litchfield, Ambassador De Leon, DTED Chief Executive Brian Cunningham, and Vice Consul Go

From Canberra, the delegation flew to Adelaide, South Australia for the second leg of the visit from November 25 to 28.

Several meetings were held with the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED), the South Australian Department of Health (DoH), Nursing and Midwifery Board of South Australia, and with the Deputy Premier of South Australia Kevin Foley.

The talks proved fruitful, resulting in the finalization of the draft RP-SA MOU on Labor Cooperation.

Meanwhile, Ambassador De Leon also paid a courtesy visit to Governor of South Australia Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce last November 27.

From the Government House, he then made a surprise visit to the Filipino Ethnic School of South Australia (FESSA) where he was able to interact with the students, parents and teachers.

Vice Consul Go conducted an oath-taking ceremony for dual citizens on November 28. The event was coordinated with Dr. Dante Reynaldo Juanta in Adelaide, South Australia.

Undersecretary Baldoz also used the occasion to inform the Filipino community of the progress of the MOU.

The Philippine labor delegation departed for Manila last November 29.

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs

Place des Cocotiers in Noumea, Territory of New Caledonia

New Caledonia is an island territory of France, located 2000 kilometers east of the coast of Queensland. The island has an area of 18,575 square kilometers and a population of about 245,000. There is a small community of French-Filipinos in the capital city of Nouméa and an additional 620 Filipino expatriate workers in the Goro Nickel Project in Yate.

Consul General Eva G. Betita, who headed the consular delegation, said that the mission was successful. “We were able to register a good number of the remaining Filipinos who were not included in the previous OAV registration period, which was held in 2006,” said Consul General Betita.

In addition, there were many Filipinos who renewed their Philippine passports, as well as a number of former Filipinos who reacquired their Philippine citizenship.

The Consul General also said that the mission had a fact-finding component to assess the situation of the Filipinos in the territory. “There are about 50 French-Filipinos in Nouméa, who arrived here in the 1980s and early 1990s.

They are professionals and are well-integrated into New Caledonian society and are respected in their areas,” the Consul General said.

There are about 620 Filipino expatriates employed in the construction of the French Government-funded Goro Nickel Project.

“These Filipino workers are well-treated and well-paid. They are housed in a facility which provides decent housing, and recreational and leisure amenities.

“They are the remaining OFWs of the 3000-strong Filipino work force who constructed the project. However, the construction is almost completed and most of that work force has been repatriated to the Philippines.

“Those who remain are involved in the commissioning of the facility,” Consul General Betita said. //PCG

Place des Cocotiers in Noumea, Territory of New Caledonia

The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney will undertake a special consular mission to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia to provide consular services to Filipinos in this South Pacific island 1,200 kilometers east of the coast of Queensland.

The mission, which will be led by Consul General Eva G. Betita, will travel to the capital of Nouméa, where there are about a hundred Filipinos working mostly in the hotel sector, and then to Goro, where more than 850 Filipinos work in the Projet Goro Nickel mining facility.

The Consulate will register overseas voters for the May 2010 Philippine presidential and senatorial elections.

“The period for the registration of overseas absentee voters (OAVs) will end on 31 August, and the Consulate wishes to ensure that the Filipinos in New Caledonia will be able to exercise their right to vote,” Consul General Betita said.

Records show that 315 Filipinos in New Caledonia were registered as OAVs during the 2006 registration period. This was during the peak of the employment of Filipino workers for the construction of the Goro Nickel mining project, when their numbers totaled more than 3,000.

The mission, which the Consulate will undertake from 21 to 23 August 2009, will reach out to the New Caledonia-based Filipinos who did not register in the previous OAV registration periods.

The Consulate will also provide passport and notarial services.

“Because there is no Philippine foreign service post in New Caledonia, expatriate Filipinos in this territory have extra difficulty renewing their passport, especially with the biometric data capture procedure of the Machine Readable Passport,” she said.

Some Filipinos even have to return to the Philippines just to renew their passport, other sources said.

This mission is also an opportunity for the Consulate to get firsthand data on the current conditions of New Caledonia and the situation of Filipinos in this French territory.

The affairs of Filipinos in New Caledonia, the third largest island in the Pacific Ocean after Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, are under the consular jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo displays her ePassport during the launch Credit: DFA Photo

The DFA Office of Consular Affairs advises interested applicants to set an appointment through the DFA website.

Until the DFA’s ePassport system has achieved full capacity, only 100 ePassports will be issued daily, on a first-come-first-serve basis, the DFA advisory said.

From August 26 to September 30, only passport applications for renewal will be accepted.

Before submitting their online appointment application, the DFA advises that applicants should fill up the required fields on the online appointment page at the DFA website. Otherwise, the online appointment process will not proceed. After internal verification, the DFA will inform the prospective applicant of his/her schedule by electronic mail. Subsequently, the applicant will confirm his/her availability by sending a reply.

Personal appearance is required for prospective ePassport applicants. Until an announcement is made, all ePassport applications during this period shall be filed by the applicant personally to the exclusion of third parties.

Interested applicants will be required their old passport, one (1) photocopy of old passport data page, a valid identification card, and the duly accomplished passport application form.

An applicant may use the current machine readable passport (MRP) application form for this purpose, which is also available in the DFA website. //DFA

Message of Condolence // Department of Foreign Affairs

The Mass was attended by leaders and members of the Philippine-Australian Community of New South Wales.

Corazon Aquino, the 11th president of the Philippines (1986 to 1991), was 76 years old. She had been suffering from colon cancer.

“News of President Aquino’s demise came to Australian almost immediately after it was announced. The news was sent through telephone calls, e-mail and SMS messages by Filipinos in the Philippines who informed their relatives and friends in Australia. Within a few hours, many Filipinos in Australia knew about it,” said Consul General Eva G. Betita.

By the evening of 1 August, Filipino priests throughout New South Wales were offering Masses for the former President. Australians and immigrant communities expressed their sympathies to Filipinos for the loss of whom they regard was a great and admirable leader.

Consul General Betita said the Consulate has opened a Book of Condolence, which officials of the Australian Government and the Consular Corps of Sydney, as well as leaders and members of the Filipino-Australian Community, may sign and write their messages of sympathy. The Condolence Book was opened on 3 August and will remain open until 10 August.