09 September 2014 – A team from the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney conducted a consular outreach mission on August 30 in Tamworth, New South Wales. The consulate team was composed of Consul Marford Angeles, Ms. Ma. Regina Queenie Perol, Mr. Russell Villegas, Ms. Filipina Galicia, Ms. Jessie Llaneta and Mr. Fidel Simeon. Labor Attaché Rodolfo Sabulao of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Canberra joined the team to ascertain the welfare of overseas Filipino workers in Tamworth, which is located 402 kilometers north of Sydney Central Business District..
The team processed applications for passport renewal, reports of births and marriages, notarials, and NBI clearance, and conducted overseas voters registration. Consul Angeles also administered the oath to three candidates re-acquiring Philippine citizenship.
The team members also responded to queries on consular services, dual citizenship and overseas voting. Labor Attaché Sabulao advised Filipino working visa holders on labor-related issues.
Consul Angeles and Labor Attaché Sabulao also met with the management of Teys meat company, which is led by Plant Manager Michael Wells and employs around 22 Filipinos in its abattoir in Tamworth. The Teys officials expressed high regard for the Filipino workers under their employ and shared plans to hire at least eight more Filipino workers within the year.
The team likewise discussed possible business ventures in the Philippines by Australians and their Filipino spouses in the areas of remote tracking technology and furniture sales.
The consular outreach mission is a follow-up activity to the visit of Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis to Tamworth last June 08 to attend the Philippine Independence Day celebration and the liturgical mass and cultural program of the Filipino community in the area. Since then, the Consulate General had coordinated with Filipino priests Fr. Vic Ignacio, Fr. Roel Llave and Fr. Abmar Dumayog, and with Filipino community members Rhona Lee Abasola, Amalin Sundaravej, and Gary Montalbo on the arrangements for the consular outreach mission.
On behalf of the team, Consul Angeles thanked the Filipino priests and the Filipino community coordinators who disseminated information on the consular outreach mission to their co-workers and friends, and who helped make the arrangements for the mission. Consul Angeles also conveyed his appreciation to Fr. Ross O’Brien, parish priest of St. Patrick’s Church, for graciously making available to the team the use of the church community hall for the mission. END