PRESS RELEASE
PR-047-2024
29 April 2024, Singapore – Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Medardo G. Macaraig and Embassy officials met leaders and key personalities of the Filipino community in Singapore on Sunday, 28 April 2024, during the second Ugnayan held at the Philippine Embassy. Ugnayan was held in hybrid format, with more than 50 members of the Filipino community attending in person.
Foremost among the topics discussed was the rebranding of the quarterly Embassy and Filipino Community gathering as Ugnayan, Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting, in line with Memorandum Circular No. 24 from the Office of the President. To enrich the audience’s appreciation of the Bagong Pilipinas campaign, Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Emmanuel R. Fernandez gave a primer on what Bagong Pilipinas is all about; namely, that it is both a framework that provides Filipinos with a new way of understanding themselves, their country and the kind of future it can have; as well as a movement that transcends political/partisan lines and other divides. He then explained the kind of government that Bagong Pilipinas seeks to achieve: an enabling, inclusive and fully participative government wherein every Filipino plays a role in bringing the country to greater heights. He ended his presentation by echoing the President’s call for every Filipino to do his/her part in transforming the nation because, after all, “the solution cannot be with the government alone.”
Other presentations included updates on consular services, the ongoing Overseas Voting registration, and a lineup of the Embassy’s cultural and Filipino community-related activities, Representatives from the Embassy’s partner agencies also shared updates on labor-, welfare-, social security -, and Pag-IBIG-related matters.
The Filipino Community also had the opportunity to meet and hear from Mr. Florencio “Jay” D. Teves III, the Embassy’s new Welfare Officer. Prior to his deployment to Singapore, Welfare Officer Teves served as the Division Chief of OWWA’s Advocacy and Social Marketing Division. He was also posted as Welfare Officer-designate for POLO (now, Migrant Workers Office) in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The organizers of the upcoming Fiesta sa Bayan ni Juan (which will be held on 23 June 2024 at the Bayanihan Center) also gave updates and solicited the continued support of the community on their preparations for said activity, which will be the National Day celebration for the Filipino community in Singapore. (END).
