GOVPH

Metrobank Shanghai Office Executives call on Consulate General, discuss future activities

Shanghai, 14 September 2021 – Executives of Metrobank China’s Representative Office in Shanghai paid an introductory call on Consul General Josel F. Ignacio today.

Accompanied by Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., the Consul General welcomed Deputy General Manager and First Vice President Wendy WU, Corporate Banking Department Deputy Head Terry YANG, and Remittance Officer Annie YAP at the Consulate General.

Consul General Ignacio lauded Metrobank’s role as one of the Philippine pioneer companies to establish operations in Shanghai in the 1990s, in the early days of China’s opening up and reform. “Metrobank helped lay a crucial foundation for the cultivation of the Philippines’ engagement with Shanghai and our economic diplomacy here”, said the Consul General. “We continue to reap the fruits of goodwill with China that Metrobank and its peer Philippine companies have sown”.

The Consulate General has a close relationship with Metrobank-Shanghai, as the towering Metrobank Plaza in Changning District has been the home and “physical face” of the mission since 2010.

Metrobank provided an overview of its operations and its services in China. Both sides then discussed future cooperative engagements, Apart from synergies in the economic area and networking, the Consulate and Metrobank also discussed the revival of their jointly organized financial literacy seminar for the Filipino Community in Shanghai.

Metrobank China established its Head Office in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in April 2010, becoming the first foreign bank to do so in the province. Its Representative Office in Shanghai’s Changning District was established much earlier in 1992, with a Marketing branch in Pudong. Metrobank China has five Filipino employees---three in Nanjing and two in Shanghai, including Remittance Officer Ms. YAP. END

PCG Attachées network with counterparts in Shanghai Consular Corps

Shanghai, 08 September 2021 –  Five consular Attachées of the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) joined their counterparts from other Shanghai-based consular missions in the Welcome Coffee and Bund Cruise organized by the Consular Spouses Shanghai (CSS) on 8 September.

The program included a three-hour cruise of the Huangpu River and a briefing on the history and activities of the CSS. It provided ample opportunities for networking among participants, who consisted of female foreign service personnel, the spouses and family members of foreign consular officials assigned to Shanghai, and officials of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

The PCG was represented by Consular Attachées Ella Cecilia P. Acena, Cherryann F. Belmonte-Banda, Joan E. Mariñas, Jeannie F. Petrola, and Jennifer M. Ranches. It was the first time for the PCG to join a CSS activity. Their participation is in keeping with the importance attached by the Consulate General to networking and building linkages with individual missions, the larger corps, host-city officials, and contacts in the social and cultural scene – all essential components of effective diplomacy.

With a history dating back to 1975, the CSS (http://www.shanghaiconsularspouses.org/) is a non-profit and apolitical association that brings together consular spouses and female consular officers in Shanghai around cultural visits, social events and charity work. It is run entirely by volunteers and governed by a volunteer board of members elected for a one-year term. END

Forum at PCG highlights purpose, practical value of Civil Registration

Shanghai, 07 September 2021 –  The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Shanghai, in partnership with the organization The Filipino Teachers in Shanghai (TFT Shanghai), conducted a hybrid forum on civil registration and related topics on 5 September.

The lecture on the Philippine Statistical Authority’s (PSA) Rules on the Registration of Vital Events saw the attendance of over 71 pre-registered participants – 16 attending in person, and the remainder taking part virtually via the Zoom platform.

Deputy Consul General Marlowe A. Miranda delivered a presentation on the history and functions of the PSA under Republic Act 10625, and the civil registry role and services of PCG and the relevant authority bestowed on consular officers. Supporting him were Consular Assistants Jose D. Corpuz, Joel Mariñas and Joan Mariñas.

DCG Miranda underscored the practical value of civil registration for individual Filipinos and their families with respect to legal and personal transactions, as well as for school, work, immigration and travel, among others. The Deputy Consul General also explained the importance of civil registry records and data in terms of supporting governance and the government’s planning and development of policies towards responding to societal needs.

The Forum closed with a Q&A session, during which the Consulate General also took the opportunity to present practical examples and c ase studies and to update the Filipino community in relevant developments affecting civil registration both in the Philippines and China.

The Consulate General intends to hold further various interactive fora and workshops on consular matter and other topics of interest to the Filipinos.  END