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| Last month's meeting between Consulate officials and Bayan HK delegation on Saturday opening |
For the first time ever, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong will provide consular services on a Saturday, in the wake of calls by various organizations led by United Filipinos-Migrante Hong Kong.
An announcement posted on the Consulate’s Facebook
page says that the half-day services will be held next Saturday, July 26, from
9am to 12 noon on the 14th and 29th floor of United
Centre building in Admiralty.
That means full services will be provided to
Filipinos, including passport and notarial services on the 14th
floor, as well as contract verification and other labour-related services at
the Migrant Workers Office on the 29th floor of the building.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Those who want to avail of the services are
encouraged to pre-register at <bit.ly/HK_SCS>
or by scanning the QR code.
Walk-ins
will still be accommodated, but priority will be given to those who
preregistered.
Please visit the link
for more details:
https://hongkongpcg.dfa.gov.ph/saturday-consular-services
The announcement follows a meeting on June 24 between Consul General Romulo M. Israel and Bayan HK and Macau affiliate organizations like Unifil-Migrante and Gabriela HK, during which a number of issues were raised, including their request for a Saturday opening.
Their request was backed by signatures collected from several church organizations, including the Philippine Independent Church , Methodist International Church and the Filipino-Christian Community.
Congen Israel said the decision to offer Saturday services was in response to the clamor.
"It will be like the equivalent of an outreach service that we do in other Posts with much bigger areas of jurisdiction," he said in a text message to The SUN.
Unifil chair Dolores Balladares said her group welcomes Congen Israel's quick response to their plea for a Saturday opening, which she said was "long overdue."
But she added she hoped the Consulate would be open every Saturday, instead of just once a month, in line with their original request.
The campaign proponents said most employers do not permit their domestic workers to
get out of their houses unless it’s their day off, so those who can go out only
on Saturdays are unable to get much-needed service from the PCG.
These services range from
basic consular services such as legal advice to general enquiries and document
processing such as contract verification.
During their meeting with Congen, the militant groups also asked for a regular Filipino community leaders’ meeting where non-migrant workers will also be invited; and for the permanent freeze on the mandatory collection of such government fees as memberships to PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and SSS.
Congen Israel responded positively to their suggestions, said the group representatives.
He was joined in the meeting by Vice Consul Alan Revote and Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga.
