The topics discussed in the program included the following: Immigration Consultation, Guidance and Counseling, Housing / Settlement, Employment Interviews, and Reintegration and Livelihood. The activity also coincided with the blessing of the facilities of the new Labour Office headed by Consular Officer-in-Charge of Labour , Atty. Bernardo B. Julve. The blessing was officiated by Fr. Mario Villaraza, SDB.
A mini-program followed after the ribbon cutting ceremony by Consul General Ruth Morales Prado, and Consular Officer Julve. After the national anthem was sung, messages from the Philippine Secretary of Labour and President Gloria Arroyo were read. The reading of the President’s message was done by Vice Consul Melanie Diano. Consular Officer Jay Jasper B. Javines, who assists Atty. Julve in the Labour Office, acted as the Master of Ceremonies of the program.
A sumptuous lunch featuring popular Filipino fare was then served. The affair was attended by a good number Filipino community and business leaders. Among those present were Tom Avendano of the Multicultural Helping House Society, retired UBC Professor Aprodicio Laquian, Fred Sebastian of Richmond First, PNT publisher Rey Fortaleza, PAL country manager Allan Coo, and Carmelita Tapia of the Southeast Asia Canada Business Council. A group of Filipino workers also attended the affair and participated in the afternoon program.
With the presence of ConGen Prado, an impromptu celebration of the Philippine Independence Day was also held at the event. It included the singing of the Philippine national anthem that was first sung on June 12, 1898 in Cavite by revolutionary forces under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.
On, June 30, 2010, Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was sworn in as the 15th president of the Republic of the Philippines. Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales and Jesuit Fr. Catalino Arevalo, a close friend of the Aquinos, who held the bible, swore in the only son of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and former president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. To most Filipinos, this day was very memorable because it symbolizes the beginning of a new hope for the country, the hope of a clean and honest government.
