PH Consulate General in San Francisco Honors PH Flag Amid COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place Order
Online Flag Ceremony of San Francisco Philippine Consulate General, 30 March 2020. (San Francisco PCG photo)
SAN FRANCISCO 06 April 2020 - The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco held an online flag raising ceremony on 30 March 2020 with the aim of honoring the Philippine Flag and restoring some normalcy in its operations.
The flag ceremony was held via Zoom Cloud application in line with the Shelter-in-Place Order being implemented in San Francisco and California until 03 May 2020 to stem the transmission of the SARS-CoV2, and in view of the Consulate’s work-from-home arrangement.
The ceremony also aims to serve as a reminder for the Consulate General’s personnel on their continuing duty to the flag as public servants called to deliver and provide public service to kababayans, especially those who are in distress, even in times of calamities and related events, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a way of honoring the flag even while we have to stay at home and of reminding ourselves that despite the global health situation, our duty to serve the country and our fellow Filipinos remain,” Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. said.
The Consulate General also offered a minute of silence on the passing of Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla and Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. Assistant and Attaché Rose Calderon.
The Consulate General held an online general staff meeting after the flag ceremony during which all personnel provided updates on their condition amid the COVID-19 situation and developments under their respective desks.
In line with Public Health Order No. C19-07 announced by San Francisco Mayor London Breed on 16 March 2020, directing all San Francisco residents to shelter at their place of residence beginning midnight of 17 March 2020 and extended until 03 May 2020, the Consulate General in San Francisco has suspended all consular services, including applications by mail.
The Consulate, however, attends to emergency cases such as medical emergency, death in the family and legal emergency (e.g. subpoena or summons from the Court). The Consulate can be notified of emergency cases by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. END
Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. chairs a general staff meeting after the Online Flag Ceremony of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, 30 March 2020. (San Francisco PCG photo)
For more information, visit https://www.sanfranciscopcg.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSF/.