Consular outreach serves over 500 Pinoys in Canada

Philippine officials rendered 555 consular services to the Filipino community in Edmonton in Alberta, Canada during a recent outreach mission there. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver conducted the outreach at St. Andrews Senior Center in Edmonton August 12 to 14. "A total of 555 consular services were rendered which included 528 electronic passport (e-Passport) processing, 12 dual citizenship applications, two notarials and 13 civil registry," the DFA said in a news release. Edmonton City is a 16-hour car ride or a one-and-a-half-hour plane ride from Vancouver, the DFA said. The DFA added the consular team collected CAD$36,932.25 or an estimated P1.6 million during the outreach. Members of the consular team included Consul General Jose Ampeso, Vice Consul Melanie Diano, Abigail Monte-Mah, Magdalena Sosa, Paulino Paco and Vincent John Ruiz. Citing 2008 Canada Statistics, the DFA said some 68,330 Filipinos live in Alberta. Over 39,000 Albertans are of Filipino descent, it added. In 2006, approximately 2,325 immigrants, 11% of total international immigration to Alberta in 2006, arrived in Alberta from the Philippines. - VVP, GMA News