13 December 2021, Calgary – With the year 2021 about to end, the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary hosted a Pasko ng Pasasalamat on 7 December 2021 at the Filipino-owned Pacific Hut Restaurant with the Filipino community in Calgary.
In organizing the event, Consul General Zaldy Patron said, “We are glad to host this Christmas celebration with the members of our Filipino community. This is also our way of thanking our community for all the support it has given to the PCG this year.”
“Our Christmas celebration this year was extra especial because Philippine Ambassador Rodolfo Robles, who was in Calgary on an official visit, was the PCG’s special guest of honor,” he added.
In his remarks at the event, Ambassador Robles cited the positive contributions of the Filipino community in Calgary. He called on them to continue to take an active part in the Philippines’ nation building as they work for a better life in Canada.
Ambassador Robles also spoke about the ongoing initiative of the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and the Philippine Consulates General in Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver to promote the recognition of credentials of Filipinos nurses who are now in Canada.
“I encourage all of you to read and share the information brochure that is found on the respective websites and Facebook pages of the Philippines Posts in Canada which will give Filipino nurses some ideas on the procedure for credentials recognition in Canada,” he said.
For his part, Consul General Patron briefed the community about the major accomplishments of the PCG in 2021. He cited the improvements in the PCG’s delivery of consular services, which included transferring to a bigger office, continuing the use of an online passport appointment system that allows faster processing of passport application, and conducting seven consular outreach missions this year.
Consul General Patron also mentioned the completion of the Dr. José Rizal Monument project in Nose Creek Regional Park in Airdrie, Alberta. The PCG initiated and led the implementation of this cultural diplomacy project, which was a jointly undertaken with the Airdrie City Council, Filipino Airdrie Association, and Rizal Monument Project Team.
Further, Consul General Patron shared the progress on its education cooperation program that saw the PCG linking the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Lethbridge with various Philippine government agencies, such as the Department of Science and Technology, Commission on Higher Education, and Philippine Space Agency. The PCG also connected these universities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the two provinces under the PCG’s consular jurisdiction, with the University of the Philippines and other Philippine state universities.
Consul General Patron then shared with the attendees the PCG’s plans and programs for 2022.
Guests at the Pasko ng Pasasalamat were treated to Filipino food, including puto bungbong and bibingka bites, lumpia, pandesal filled with pork adobo, chicken and pork barbeque, as well as Filipino drinks, such as San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Red Horse, and Gina mango, calamansi, and guyabano juices.
