18 December 2020, Calgary – The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary hosted a webinar on 16 December 2020 to brief the members of the Social Security System (SSS) and Pag-Ibig Fund who are now living in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, about the services of these two Philippine government agencies that have presence in Canada.

 

SSS-Calgary Representative Rhea Balicas-Biggs and Pag-Ibig Fund-Toronto Representative Elizabeth Borres, the webinar’s main resource persons, explained their respective agencies’ membership, programs and services.

 

The two Representatives assured the SSS and Pag-Ibig Fund members who are now living in Canada or have become naturalized Canadians that their contributions in SSS and Pag-Ibig Fund remain intact.  They clarified that SSS and Pag-Ibig Fund members in Canada could choose to continue their contributions and apply for benefits. Members were also encouraged to use the online services of the SSS and Pag-Ibig Fund. In his welcome remarks, Consul General Zaldy Patron said that the PCG decided to host the webinar knowing that many of the estimated 210,000 Filipino-Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan had contributed or are still contributing to the SSS and Pag-Ibig Fund.  “We would like them to become more informed on how they could still enjoy the two agencies’ services while they are in Canada” he added.

 

Consul General Patron further explained that the webinar was the fourth and the last one this year under the PCG’s Online Forum Education Series.

 

The PCG first hosted a virtual forum on 19 June featuring Dr. Glenda Bonifacio, the first Filipino-Canadian full professor in the University of Lethbridge, who talked about her book “Pinay on the Prairies” and her other writings about the Filipinos in Canada.

 

This was followed by a webinar on “Understanding Mental Health Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic” on 31 July where Dr. Daisy Ann Jabido-Artuz, Filipino-Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Alberta Health Services, served as the resource person.

 

The PCG held its third webinar on 7 August for the Filipino foreign temporary workers about the services of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.