30 October 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto conducted a consular outreach mission to Winnipeg, Manitoba from October 15 to 19. The outreach was scheduled to coincide with the Economic Diplomacy Workshop and Consular Consultations 2015 for all Foreign Service Posts in Canada and the calls and meetings of Team Philippines in Canada, headed by Philippine Ambassador to Canada Petronila P. Garcia, on government officials and executives from the business sector in Manitoba.

Philippine Honorary Consul General Orlando Marcelino and Philippine Honorary Consul Ronaldo Opina assisted the Consulate General in the preparations and arrangements of the consular outreach mission as they also played host to Team Philippines in Canada.

A total of 1,280 applicants were served for consular services with a significant number coming from as far as Alberta and British Columbia. Some drove for several hours to have their passports renewed. The Philippine Embassy in Ottawa generously assisted the Consulate General in the overseas voters registration. A total of 721 people had themselves registered as overseas voters for the forthcoming 2016 elections.

The Consulate General noted that regular and more frequent consular outreach missions are still needed to service Filipinos in far-flung areas whose numbers more than doubled in the past five years alone. Many have expressed their appreciation to the Philippine government, through the Consulate General, for conducting provincial mobile consular outreach missions explaining that they were spared the time, effort, and financial cost of having to take an air flight all the way to Toronto for passport renewal services. END