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Bangkok, Thailand – The Department of Foreign Affairs recently provided focused training for Philippine diplomats assigned to overseas missions in the Asia-Pacific, on the promotion of “Gender and Development” (GAD) objectives.

The Regional Training on GAD was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 22-25 August 2023, to strengthen the institutional capacities and competencies of individual missions’ GAD Focal Point Officers (GFPO)

The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Shanghai was represented by its Cultural Officer and GFPO, Ms. Jeannie F. Petrola, who joined over 20 other GFPOs and officials from DFA-Manila at the event.

The training covered all key aspects of GAD promotion, such as the key concepts, GFPO system, the DFA’s GAD objectives, project planning and budgeting, gender sensitivity, gender-fair language, sexual harassment prevention and case administration, violence against women (VAW), and GAD as applied to the DFA’s assistance-to-nationals mandate.

In the interactive discussions and group activities, Ms. Petrola offered Shanghai PCG’s assessment and perspectives on GAD concerns of relevance to Filipinos residing in the financial capital, as well as the larger Yangtze River Delta Area. She also provided a survey of local laws, regulations and ordinances dealing with women’s rights and comprehensive advancement.

Shanghai PCG accords due importance to its own GAD program, and regularly undertakes GAD activities throughout the year, especially during Women’s Month in March and the 18-Day Campaign to end VAW. END

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SHANGHAI – Consul General Josel F. Ignacio led the three-agency Philippine Country Team in Shanghai on a visit to the Shanghai headquarters of Filipino food giant Liwayway China Co. Ltd., in Qingpu District on 19 August.

In China and other parts of Asia and Africa, Liwayway is synonymous with the highly popular Oishi and Shanghaojia snack lines.

Liwayway China Chairman Mr. Larry A. Chan led the company’s Filipino staff in warmly receiving personnel of the Philippine Consulate General (PCG), the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC), and the Philippine Department of Tourism Office (PDOT).

The affable and highly esteemed executive personally led the factory and office walkthrough. The tour showcases Liwayway’s highly automated and state-of-the-art snack manufacturing processes, many self-developed, which are optimized for its multiple product lines.

A sit-down briefing followed, delving on the corporate history of Liwayway, including its venture in China in the 1990s, as well as its many laudable CSR activities which have been geared towards promoting mutual appreciation and amity between the Philippines and China.

Known in China as Oishi-Shanghaojia (上好佳), the company’s early entry in the early days of Shanghai’s “opening up and reform” earned it an important foothold in the psyche of Chinese consumers. Love for the Oishi-Shanghaojia brand is such that it won official recognition as “Shanghai Famous Brand” and “Shanghai Famous Trademark” in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

Liwayway now has an extensive network of factories and distributors across China. These are the spearhead of the company’s overseas expansion into Southeast and South Asia, Africa and Central Asia.

oishi tourcLiwayway has been one of the staunchest supporters and promoters of Philippines-China ties, sister city relationships, and the PCG’s activities and initiatives.

During the Great Shanghai COVID-19 lockdown in April-May 2022, Liwayway contributed goods and logistical support for the PCG’s “Ayuda” drive that provided generous emergency food packages to 535 Filipinos running short on provisions.

Attesting to their contributions, family patriarch Mr. Carlos Chan and current President Larry have both earned the city’s prestigious Magnolia Award and have been conferred the title of “Honorary Shanghai Citizen”.

Light reflecting off the good repute of Liwayway helps illuminate and grow Philippines-China friendship”, said Consul General Ignacio. “The PCG celebrates Liwayway’s successes and will lend its utmost support under its economic diplomacy mandate”. END

First Chinese e-Visa holders welcomed in Manila

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SHANGHAI – The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Shanghai earned a place in the annals of Philippine consular affairs by becoming the first -- and to date only -- Philippine overseas mission to process and issue the newly minted Philippine e-Visa.

Designated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as locus for the e-Visa “soft launch”, PCG-Shanghai is currently on the second week of pilot testing that commenced on 25 August. The day prior, the e-Visa was ceremonially launched by DFA Secretary Enrique A. Manalo in Manila.

Co-developed by the DFA and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the e-Visa allows foreigners to lodge visa applications and supporting documents online and pay the scheduled fees remotely. In lieu of a visa sticker on the passport, bearers need only present a digital (mobile) image or print-out to authorities. The e-Visa is already fully integrated with and verifiable using the Philippines’ e-Travel registration system, facilitating passage through immigration.

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The ongoing “soft launch” in Shanghai marks the final phase of the beta-testing. As such, access to the online platform is currently limited to a controlled number of Chinese applicants.

During the trials within the PCG premises, Chinese applicants access and register onto the online e-Visa system from their respective devices. PCG officials and staff are on hand to assist, while also documenting applicants’ comments, system performance, and fine-tuning opportunities.

Though on beta, the ongoing trials generate full valid, working e-Visas which during the test period are issued exclusively to trial participants. Correspondingly, the Consulate General advise the broader public against applying via the platform remotely, until the system goes on full launch.

The test has so far been met with great success. The e-Visa system has been performing according to design parameters and delivering within the high-expectation context of Philippine visa issuance goals vis-à-vis the Chinese traveler market.

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In post-trial feedback, the Chinese beta test participants are all praises for the e-Visa system. They find the platform convenient, user friendly and reliable. They also lauded PCG staff for being helpful throughout the process. The e-Visa site incorporates Chinese-language capabilities.

Following processing turnaround guidelines, the very first Philippine e-Visas were approved and issued a few days later to a mother-daughter tandem and a male traveler.

The three departed Shanghai and arrived in Manila in the early hours of 02 September, clearing immigration at both ends smoothly. At NAIA, they were warmly welcomed by Philippine Foreign Affairs and immigration officials.

“The ongoing e-Visa beta test in Shanghai anticipates the eventual full launch of a robust Philippine e-Visa System, built on a thorough inter-agency effort,” said Consul General Josel F. Ignacio. “The e-Visa portal extends beyond the digital sphere – it is a true portal to direct, visible and tangible people-to-people contact, business and tourism.” END

Press Release - Chinese Version

 

Historic first PH e-Visas issued at Shanghai Consulate General

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SHANGHAI – A 38-year-old Chinese mother and her three-year-old daughter made history by becoming the very first foreigners to enter the Philippines using the country’s newly minted e-Visa.

Flying out on a China Eastern Airlines red-eye from Pudong Airport in Shanghai, the mother-daughter duo was sent off by a team from the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai – the first and currently only Philippine foreign service mission issuing e-Visas.

Bidding them farewell were Consul John Francis S. Herrera, Attaché Julie Cris L. Dominguez, Attaché Jennifer M. Ranches, and DOT-Shanghai Administrative Officer Ghienel S. Gustilo.

The two arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 at 5:12 A.M., where they cleared immigration smoothly using their e-Visas. Warmly welcoming them were DFA officials led by Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Henry S. Bensurto, Jr., and BI Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco.

Another Chinese national, a male passenger also flying out of Shanghai via Cebu Pacific Air, became the Philippines’ third e-Visa arrival, clearing immigration at NAIA Terminal 3 later in the same hour.

first evisa china2Co-developed by DFA and the DICT, the Philippine e-Visa was soft launched by DFA Secretary Enrique A. Manalo on 24 August in Manila. The following day, the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai commenced limited trials of e-Visa processing and opened to the first group of e-Visa applicants. The first three e-Visa arrivals all hailed from this batch.

The e-Visa allows foreign nationals to lodge their visa applications and supporting documents online. Holders will no longer need a visa sticker on their passports, and need only to present a digital (mobile) image or print-out of their e-Visa. The e-Visa is already fully integrated with and verifiable using the Philippines e-Travel registration system.

“The e-Visa stands to be gamechanger in the Philippines’ effort to lure in more Chinese travelers and in the ability of Philippine consular offices in China to ramp up visa issuance”, said Philippine Consul General in Shanghai Josel F. Ignacio. “Our Consulate General in Shanghai is privileged to be part of this historic milestone in the digitization of visa services”.

While currently only available in Shanghai, the e-Visa is set for an eventual full and expanded launch at Philippine missions across China, at a date to be announced in due course by the Department of Foreign Affairs. END

Press Release - Chinese Version

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