PH Consulate General in Los Angeles Participates in Filipino Workers’ Virtual Town Hall

LOS ANGELES 14 April 2020 – Philippine Consul General to Los Angeles Adelio Angelito S. Cruz served as one of the resource speakers in the virtual town hall meeting of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) of Southern California in the afternoon of 13 April 2020.

Consul General Cruz informed the participants that the Consulate General continues to serve the community despite the temporary suspension of its consular operations, and could still be reached by email and phone. He also shared updates \about the Philippine government’s assistance to Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing repatriation of seafarers and other Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

He took the opportunity to commend PWC for its commitment to providing assistance to our kababayan in need and assured the organization of the Consulate General’s continued support for their initiatives, especially for “Care Box Program” Fundraiser Project and “COVID-19 Relief Fund Project”.

Also invited to the town hall was Welfare Officer Josephine S. Tobia of the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., who discussed the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) recently-launched financial assistance program “Abot Kamay Ang Pagtulong” (DOLE-AKAP) for OFWs.

Documented and qualified undocumented OFWs who wish to avail of this one-time financial assistance from DOLE are advised to visit the following links: for the application procedures: https://bit.ly/3emyxUt and online application form: https://bit.ly/DOLE-AKAP-form

Resource speakers from the private sector included 1) Restaurateur, Ms.Rhea Rachelle Espino of Neri’s Restaurant who discussed her partnership with PWC in its “Care Meals Program”, as well as her other advocacy projects; 2) Filipino Community leader and Business Development Coordinator of Mabuhay Credit Union, Mr. Frederick Alain Docdocil, who discussed the financial loans and other services being offered by Mabuhay; and 3) Atty. Sebastian Sanchez of Bet Tzedek Legal Clinic, which provides free legal services to low-income individuals, who discussed the various relief assistance being offered by the local government to affected sectors of the community.

PWC Executive Director Ms. Aquilina Versoza, who facilitated the town hall, encouraged the Filipino community to actively participate in its #EveryFilipinoCounts campaign. PWC, in partnership with the Filipino Complete Count Committee of Los Angeles County, produced a teleserye-styled infomercial entitled, “Ang Drama Mo,” featuring Fil-Am actors Dante Basco, Princess Punzalan, and many others, to remind the Filipino community of the importance of being counted in the ongoing 2020 U.S. Census. END

For more information, visit https://www.philippineconsulatela.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinLA/.