GOVPH

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY CELEBRATES FIESTA FILIPINAS, SEASON 2, WAGAYWAY FESTIVAL OF IMUS CITY, CAVITE

25 June 2022, Seoul. The Philippine Embassy in Seoul celebrated the Wagayway Festival of Imus City, Cavite on 25 June 2022 together with Yeoncheon City government officials led by Mr. Jong-Uk KIM, Manager of International Affairs, Ms. Hyo-Sook BANG, Ms. Ju-Ok LEE, and Mr. Tae-Woon OH. Yeoncheon City, Gyeonggi Province is a sister-city of Imus City, Cavite Province. Mr. Kim congratulated the organizers of the festival and in describing the festival he said “I’m just saying one word Mabuhay” to all the participants. In 2009, friendship and cultural exchanges began between the two cities before a sister-city agreement was signed in 2017.

Mayor Emmanuel L. Maliksi also participated in the Wagayway Festival, in his message he welcomed the almost 300 participants to the virtual celebration and invited all the “Bisitas” to visit Cavite Province.

FILCOM representative and migrants advocate, Ms. Anna Sumayod and students of the Gyeongsangnamdo Foreign Residents Support Center Youth Migrants Social Adaptation class of 2022, gamely participated in the activities of the Wagayway Festival. END

PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR THERESA DIZON-DE VEGA ATTENDS THE FLIGHT RESUMPTION AND INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF FLY GANGWON’S YANG YANG-CLARK INTERNATIONAL ROUTE

24 June 2022, Seoul - PH Ambassador to Korea H.E. Theresa Dizon-De Vega attended the re-operation and inauguration ceremony of Fly Gangwon’s Yang Yang – Clark International Route held at the Yang Yang International Airport on the evening of 24 June 2022.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega conveyed her congratulations to Fly Gangwon and all the officials and institutions involved in the resumption of operations of the Fly Gangwon Direct Air Route from Yang Yang International Airport to Clark International Airport in Angeles, Pampanga. In her remarks, Ambassador De Vega mentioned that passengers from Yang Yang Airport will feel the warmest and also the safest of welcomes at Clark Airport as a new, improved, and modern gateway and also in the various tourism sites located in the Clark, Pampanga province and beyond. Visitors to the Philippines will likewise enjoy activities from leisure, golf, nature tourism, sports, food, entertainment, cultural, and shopping experiences.

The Yang Yang – Clark route will likewise allow for more people-to-people exchanges between the Philippine and Korea with both countries sharing a long and historic friendship for more than 70 years. Filipinos will also enjoy a visit to Gangwon Province, with the many temples, markets, beaches, museums, K-content sites, and the famous Lavender festival.

This June, Fly Gangwon will mount two (2) scheduled flights to and from Clark. PH hopes that the resumption of airline operations will help both countries’ travel industries to recover from the pandemic. END

FILIPINO COMMUNITY IN SOUTH KOREA COMMEMORATES 2022 PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY AND MIGRANT WORKERS DAY

20 June 2022, Seoul. The Philippine Embassy with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office – OWWA in Seoul hosted the 2^nd Filipino Community Leaders Forum for 2022 in commemoration of the 124^th anniversary of the Philippine Independence and the 27^th Migrant Workers Day. The event was the first face-to-face meeting in over two years of the Filipino community leaders in South Korea representing sixty (65) Filipino organizations/associations.

In her inspirational message, Ambassador Theresa Dizon – De Vega recalled the sacrifices and heroism of the forebears of the nation, and enjoined everyone to recognize the enduring contribution to nation-building of the overseas Filipinos, the country’s modern-day heroes, who consistently demonstrated resilience and sacrifices during the recent pandemic.

“The theme of our Philippine Independence Day celebration this year is Pag-suong sa Hamon ng Panibagong Bukas (or Rise Towards the Challenge of a New Beginning). As a new administration is being ushered in this month, the Embassy reaffirms our commitment to serving you better and upholding the core service values of promoting the welfare, rights and benefits, and well-being of Filipinos in South Korea,” the Ambassador said. She announced the upcoming renovation of the consular wing of the Embassy building and upgrading of the communication facilities as part of the service improvement efforts of the Embassy. “With the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers, and upon completion of its transition process, you can also expect responsive policy reforms and more integrated frontline services for our overseas Filipino workers under the incoming leadership”, Ambassador De Vega added.

The three-part program commenced with the commemorative messages from His Excellency President Rodrigo Roa Duterte; Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin of the Department of Foreign Affairs; Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III of the Department of Labor and Employment; and Secretary William Dar of the Department of Agriculture. This was followed by a forum where the Embassy officers and attached services provided updates on consular, labor, PEAK Pinoy reintegration program for returning OFWs, and new Philippine and Korea entry protocols. Ambassador De Vega led in responding to the various concerns raised by the FilCom leaders during the question-and-answer portion.

A special segment of the program featured the awarding of Certificates of Recognition to three (3) awardees from South Korea, namely, Rev. Dr. Ariel Bernardo, 2021 Banaag Presidential Awardee; Mr. Rodney Queman, 2021 Bagong Bayani Awardee for Social and Community Service; and Mr. Nash Ang, 2021 Migration Advocacy Media Awardee. The Embassy also awarded Certificates of Registration to nine (9) Filipino community organizations and enjoined the leaders to update their registration and encourage non-registered community organizations to register using the new online facility. 

The Filipino community enjoyed the musical and cultural numbers featuring the winning performances of Mr. Leo Altejos, Ms. Seneca Moraleda-Puguan, the Gwangju Jeonnam Philippine Community, and the Seoul Filipino Catholic Community. A surprise song number rendered by the Philippine Embassy and led by Ambassador De Vega brought the Filipino community leaders up on their feet and in unison sang “Tagumpay Nating Lahat”. Adding cheers to the celebration were community dancing and lucky draws and tokens of appreciation to the Filipino community leaders for their continuing support to the activities of the Embassy and valuable services to their respective communities. -END-