28 May 2017, Dubai, U.A.E. The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates led by Consul General Paul Ramyund P. Cortes held a Town Hall meeting with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano at the Consulate’s Rizal Hall on 27 May 2017.
Joining the Secretary were Undersecretary for Policy Enrique Manalo, Office of European Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Cleofe Natividad, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Constancio R Vingno Jr., and officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai.
Over 250 guests attended the event and participated in the open forum. Among the questions raised were the official visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to the UAE, issues on martial law, and federalism.
Secretary Cayetano also discussed the proposed abolition of the passport appointment system, the implementation of the 10-year passport validity, and the acceleration of the passport procedures.
It was the Secretary’s first overseas community event as the country’s top diplomat. Backed by his 25-year experience as a lawmaker and as a local executive, he vowed to lead the DFA as it seeks more effective and efficient ways and means to deliver consular services. He also assured the community that the DFA remains committed to providing top-notch quality service to its public. He committed to ensuring the overseas community that the DFA, DOLE, and the rest of the Philippine agencies represented in the UAE will remain promoting and protecting the well-being of the Overseas Filipinos through the One Country Team approach.
Secretary Cayetano also met with 10 Overseas Filipinos who were scheduled to be repatriated on 28 May 2017. The 10 Overseas Filipinos were housed at the PCG/POLO Dubai’s Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center (MWORFC) and have been cleared by local authorities for eventual exit from the UAE. He also assured the rest of the other wards in Dubai that the Embassy and Consulate and the POLO offices of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are doing its best to secure appropriate clearances for their eventual repatriation. END
