22 January 2015 – The Department of Foreign Affairs Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) held a consular retooling seminar for Middle East and North Africa posts from January 09 to 10 in Dubai.

The first of its kind, the seminar was organized in response to growing calls from the concerned Foreign Service Posts for a workshop that will provide an opportunity to discuss and obtain relevant information pertaining to common issues and best practices as well as to get guidance and updates on recent developments on the consular front which impacts on the delivery of vital consular services abroad, specifically in the Middle East.

DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Rafael E. Seguis led the six-man contingent who included OCA Assistant Secretary Wilfredo C. Santos and the division heads of Passport, Visa, Authentication and Consular Records.

The Philippine Statistics Authority and the Bureau of Immigration, long-time OCA partner agencies, sent representatives in the person of Ms. Editha R. Orcilla, Division Chief of Civil Registration and Document Management, and Atty. Norman Tansingco, Technical Assistant from the Office of the Commissioner, as technical resource persons which completed the delegation.

Undersecretary Seguis emphasized the importance of the workshop to all in attendance and encouraged them to make the most out of the occasion to ask questions directly to the offices concerned. Over the course of the two-day seminar held at the Mӧvenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel in Dubai, UAE, the resource persons tackled various topics of interest and exchanged views with more than 26 participants --- senior consular officers and foreign service staff. END