11 August 2016 — The Philippine Embassy in Athens provided 239 consular services during the Embassy’s consular outreach mission in Cyprus from July 30 to 31.

Of the 239 consular services rendered, 238 were ePassport applications.  The Philippine Overseas Labor Office — Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA) and Pag-IBIG also made their respective services available during that period.

The consular outreach took place at the Philippine Consulate in Nicosia.

The consular outreach was conducted with the support of Ms. Shemaine Bushnell-Kyriakides, Honorary Consul of the Philippines in Cyprus and volunteers from the Filipino community in Cyprus.

On May 31, the Philippine Embassy in Athens, led by its Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Minister and Consul General Rosario P. Lemque, convened a seminar for Filipino Community in Cyprus.  The seminar included lectures on civil registration, OWWA disability benefits, and information on human trafficking and smuggling. The seminar was held at the Classic Hotel in Nicosia. Around 60 Filipino Community leaders attended the event.

In compliance with Proclamation No. 1106, declaring 2015-2024 as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade in the Philippines, Mr. Rommel B. Quisao, Consular Assistant, Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer and Attaché, conducted a lecture on Civil Registration, with specific emphasis on Reports of Birth (ROB), Reports of Marriage (ROM), and Reports of Death (ROD).

Mrs. Rosalia Susana S. Bahia-Catapang, OWWA Welfare Officer, POLO-OWWA Greece, discussed the benefits provided by OWWA to its members, with specific emphasis on disability benefits requirements, in observance of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week, which is celebrated from July 17 to 23.

Lastly, Ms. Sheila Marie C. Tario, Second Secretary and Consul, delivered a lecture on Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling, in view of the 2016 World Day against Trafficking Celebration on July 30.

Labor Attache Adam Musa discussed to Filipino Community the dangers of human trafficking in Cyprus and how to protect oneself from becoming a victim of the said transnational crime. END