19 October 2015 – The Consular Team of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, led by First Secretary and Consul Roderico C. Atienza, conducted consular services and voter registration for close to 300 Filipinos living in or near the Metropolitan City of Daegu from August 28 to 29.
Daegu is the third largest Filipino community among the seven special metropolitan areas in Korea, following Seoul and Busan, with more than 1,500 registered nationals from the Philippines based on Korean Immigration records.
The nine-member consular team, which was hosted by the Daegu Filipino Community Council (DFCC) at the Daegu Catholic Workers’ Center (DCWC), tallied 287 cases of passports renewed, lost passports reported, live births reported, as well as affidavits, special power of attorney, jurats and police clearances issued in two eight-hour sessions.
Apart from consular services, there were 180 new registered overseas voters (OV), including 99 on the first day, the highest one-day tally since the Philippine Embassy started OV registration in May 2014. It matched the highest single-day tally in Gimhae in December 2014.
“I am encouraged by the response of our compatriots to our call to register for the national elections next year,” Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez said upon seeing the consular and voter registration missions’ results. “This puts us closer to meeting our targets for the total number of new voters for the overseas precinct of South Korea.”
Social Welfare Attaché (SWAtt) Lucita J. Villanueva conducted orientation seminars to 42 Filipino women on the programs and services of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Filipino migrant women married to Koreans were reminded to report the birth of their children, especially those born when they were still Filipino citizens.
Ms. Villanueva also discussed how to process divorces through the Recognition of Foreign Judgment under Philippine courts, including those who have plans to have their Filipino children adopted (stepfather adoption).
She also provided thorough counseling in 10 cases involving marital problems, domestic violence, and plans for annulment of their marriage in the Philippines. Database and mapping of multicultural communities were among her accomplishments, which entailed gathering the names and contact details of Filipinos or former Filipinos in the area.
Consul Atienza thanked DCWC Director Fr. Stepano Sanghae Lee for allowing the use of its facilities, DCWC staff and volunteers, led by Filipino interpreter Irene Kim, and DFCC President Lovelie Gil for organizing the applicants’ requests and for overall facilitation of the event.
With the assistance of Mr. Lee Sang-man, President of the Korea-Philippines Friendship Association in Daegu, Consul Atienza and members of his team visited the Seongseo Campus of Keimyung University, located in the western part of Daegu in Dalseo-gu, to inspect the facilities as a convergence area for Filipinos from all over Korea in case of war.
They met Keimyung University officials, led by DrNam Jae-youl, Vice President for Industry-Academic Cooperation, Prof Kim Sun Jeong, Dean of International Affairs, Prof Kim Kijin,Dean of the College of Physical Education, University Chaplain Pastor Park Soyoung, and Philippine-born Professor Angelita Cruz of the College of Physical Education.
Keimyung University, a private institution founded by American Presbyterian missionaries in 1954, has admitted scores of Filipino students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. It has offered its gymnasium and Taekwondo Centre, with a capacity of 10,000 and 2,500 seats, respectively, as roofed shelters for Filipino evacuees in case of emergency.
“I am impressed with the way the Filipino community in Korea is being taken care of by its government and Embassy here,”said Vice President Nam, adding the Philippine Embassy is the first foreign government to approach their university for assistance. He said the university athletic field can host a veritable tent city for 25,000 more Filipinos, if necessary.
There are an estimated 53,000 Filipinos living in Korea as of 2015. Most of them are concentrated in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, including the surrounding industrial belt in the Gyeonggi Province, with some cities like Paju and Goyang situated close to the four-kilometer wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with North Korea. END