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PHL EMBASSY IN ATHENS CONVENES FIRST FILIPINO COMMUNITY MEETING FOR 2016

12 January 2016 - The Philippine Embassy in Athens convened its first meeting of the year with the Filipino community at the Embassy’s Chancery on January 09.

Minister and Consul General Rosario P. Lemque, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., of the Philippine Embassy, presided over the meeting together with Second Secretary and Consul Sheila Marie C. Tario and Mrs. Rosalia Susana S. Bahia-Catapang, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Welfare Officer to Greece and Officer-in-Charge of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Greece.

The meeting was attended by 33 leaders of the Filipino community. The discussion focused on the current economic situation in Greece, the proposed Social Security Agreement between the Philippines and Greece, and the health and well-being of Filipinos in Greece.

After the meeting, the Philippine Embassy hosted a simple merienda of pancit bihon and ginataang bilo-bilo for the guests.

PHL AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH FILIPINO COMMUNITY IN CYPRUS

09 December 2015 - Philippine Ambassador to Cyprus Nestor Z. Ochoa met with 60 leaders and members of the Filipino community in Cyprus on December 05 at a function room of the Classic Hotel in Nicosia. Also in attendance during the meeting were Philippine Honorary Consul to Cyprus Shemaine Bushnell-Kyriakides and several personnel of the Philippine Embassy in Athens, including POLO-OWWA.

Ambassador Ochoa shared with the Filipino community that the main purpose of his visit was to present his credentials as non-resident Ambassador of the Philippines to Cyprus to the Office of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and to follow up with MFA officials, among other things, the forging of a Philippines-Cyprus Social Security Agreement. He relayed the good news from the MFA that they are working hard to finalize the agreement at the soonest possible time. Ambassador Ochoa also assured the Filipino community that the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Nicosia and the Philippine Embassy in Athens are always prepared to provide them with assistance.

An open forum followed Ambassador’s Ochoa’s remarks, where the Ambassador, along with Consul Sheila Marie Tario, Welfare Officer Rosalia Bahia-Catapang, Ms. Liwayway Ferrer of POLO-Athens, and Honorary Consul Bushnell-Kyriakides entertained questions and comments.

Ambassador Ochoa also inducted a new set of officers of the Filipino Achievers in Larnaca, Cyprus, a Filipino community organization, prior to the meeting.

PHL EMBASSY SPONSORS SIMBANG GABI MASS AT MIRACULOUS MEDAL CENTER IN ATHENS

18 December 2015 – The Philippine Embassy in Athens sponsored the Simbang Gabi Mass at the Miraculous Medal Center for Migrants (MMC) in Greece on December 16.

The MMC is a center for migrant workers and refugees.  It is a recognized pastoral arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) whose purpose is to arouse in our Filipino migrants their immense missionary potentials. The pastoral activities of the MMC had been echoed in various International Consultation Meetings on the Filipino Ministry Overseas in Europe, in European Preparatory Commission for the general assembly of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, France; and in the IV World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees in the Vatican City. The current Spiritual Director of MMC is Sr. Emma Rivero DC.