Filipino Groups Unite to Push Consular Office Campaign in Alberta

Filipino Groups Unite to Push Consular Office Campaign in Alberta

Migrante-Alberta Group

EDMONTON, Alberta– “Open a consular office in Alberta, now!” This call will echo in the four corners of Alberta as Filipino groups converge in two main cities on Feb. 22.

Leaders of Filipino groups will gather simultaneously in Edmonton and Calgary to reiterate to the Philippine government their need for a consular office in Alberta. A petition making its rounds in the province that kickstarted the campaign in August 2013 has gathered around 5,000 signatures from Filipinos.

Led by Filipino group Migrante Alberta, the gathering aims to unify the broadest number of Filipinos and Filipino groups and form a coalition to push the campaign. As of yet, the coalition building will be participated in Edmonton by Kabisig society of Fort Saskatchewan, Filipino Support Services Society Edmonton, Philippine Cordillera Association and Kalinga Association. Joining in Calgary will be Alpha Phi Omega Alumni Association of Calgary, CIWA (Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association) – Filipino Community Dev’t Program, Possibilities in Motion, Philippine Independent Organizing Committee, Babae (Women), UP (University of the Philippines) Alumni Association of Calgary, CAFFA (Council and Assembly of Filipino Organizations and Associations), PCC (Philippine Cultural Center Foundation), Knights of Columbus, Filipino Catholic Society, Mabuhay Calgary and Quezonian.

“The gathering of Filipino community groups in Edmonton and Calgary is an important milestone in our campaign to have a consular office in the province,” says Marco Luciano, Migrante-Alberta spokesperson. “This further solidifies and validates our demand for accessible services from our own government,” he added.

Luciano said that the campaign aims to address the ever-growing needs of the more than 100,000 Filipinos in Alberta. Citing statistics, Migrante Alberta noted that Filipinos ranked 4th among the most visible minorities in Alberta. It said that the Philippines topped as source country for immigrants landing in Alberta from 2007 to 2010, based on the 2011 Alberta Immigration Progress Report. In 2010 alone, the number of immigrants from the Philippines who entered the province jumped by 40% from the previous year, it added.

Meanwhile, booking an appointment to renew passports through the Philippine consulate’s outreach services is proving to be more and more difficult for Filipinos.

On January 27, the Philippine Consular Office in Vancouver opened its online booking for passport renewals which will be held in Edmonton in an outreach activity from March 8-11. In monitoring this, Migrante Alberta noted that it took only 10 minutes until the website went down with a message “server error.” Many Filipinos, including Migrante Alberta members Jhong dela Cruz and Elena Sebastian, spent hours trying to book their respective appointments. The office later stated that this was due to “capacity overload or heavy traffic.”

Another schedule created confusion for anxious applicants when the consulate office suddenly changed its online booking schedule for Calgary set from March 13-15. From its original Feb. 10 schedule, the consulate announced on Feb. 7 it will commence online booking within the next 48 hours. “This unexpected change caught Filipinos unaware and unprepared to book a day earlier,” said Luciano, adding that many were surprised to log in on Feb. 10 only to learn that the outreach schedule has already been filled.

“For those unlucky Filipinos that couldn’t get a time slot in those outreach services, they have to go to Vancouver to simply renew their passport—a process that could cost individuals up to $700 in airfare, accommodations and the $69 passport fee,” lamented Luciano.

Furthermore, the campaign also includes calls for reasonable and affordable fees for consular services for Filipinos in Canada, said Luciano. He said that renewal of a Philippine ePassport in Canada costs $69, over 30% more compared to the $23.75 fee in the Philippines. He added that exorbitant fees are also collected for other services such as passport replacement and criminal record checks.

The campaign is also gaining attention in the Philippines. In a statement through Philippine media, a representative from the Philippine’s Foreign Affairs department was quoted as saying that they have received Migrante’s petition and the proposal for a consular office will be studied in its budget planning this year.

The Philippine Consulate in Vancouver serves approximately 200,000 to 250,000 Filipinos annually in Western Canada, including Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Alberta alone is home to over 100,000 immigrant Filipinos, including permanent residents and temporary foreign workers.

(PRESS RELEASE)