PCGNY.net | News Release

NEW YORK CONSULATE RENDERS CONSULAR SERVICE FOR FIL-AMS IN RHODE ISLAND

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE - NEWS RELEASE
15 August 2006

The Consular Team services the consular needs of Fil-Am community during outreach in Rhode Island on 12 August 2006.

Consul General Cecilia Rebong administers the Oath of Allegiance, en masseø of newly-minted Filipino citizens in Rhode Island.

NEW YORK -- Philippine Consul General to New York, Cecilia Rebong, reported to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that a consular team from New York rendered consular services for the Filipino-American community in Rhode Island on 12 August 2006.

The consular team processed applications for passport and dual citizenship, authenticated documents, and registered applicants for overseas absentee voting.

Consul General Rebong noted that as in previous consular outreach programs, dual citizenship proved to be a “hit” among the community members. The consular team reportedly processed a total of nineteen (19) applications for dual citizenship. All 19 applicants simultaneously registered as Overseas Absentee Voters, raising the overall number of OAV registrants for NY PCG to seven-hundred thirteen (713).

She also observed that recent applicants for dual citizenship, especially during consular outreach programs, have become easier to convince to register for overseas absentee voting at the same time unlike before when only 1 or 2 out of 5 applicants for dual citizenship would consider registering for OAV. Rebong attributed this positive development to the recent Philippine Supreme Court ruling allowing dual citizens to vote in Philippine national elections without having to comply with the residency requirement prescribed by the Constitution among regular voters.

As in previous consular outreach programs, Consul General Rebong and Consul Badajos conducted an information meeting with the community. During the meeting, questions from the community on such varied topics as dual citizenship, OAV, ownership of real property in the Philippines, obtaining a student visa for college-bound children of Fil-Am families, etc., were answered.

Expressing deep appreciation for the first-ever visit of the Consulate General in their area, leaders of the Filipino community requested Consul General Rebong to conduct regular consular outreach programs in Rhode Island. “We are happy to be able to bring our consular services to our kababayans here in Rhode Island and will certainly come back,” Consul General Rebong responded.

The New York Consulate organized the consular outreach in Rhode Island in coordination with three Fil-Am organizations in the area, namely, Lingkod Timog headed by Mrs. Cecilia (Cely) G. Heredia; Fil-Am Association of Newport County headed by Mr. Antonio Cercena; and the Rhode Island chapter of NaFFAA through its State Chair, Mr. Rommel Arca.