In response to the urgent and persistent requests from more than 23,000 Filipinos in Auckland to avail of the Embassy’s mobile consular services, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Virginia H. Benavidez, together with Minister and Consul Giovanni Palec, Consul-General Marcos Punsalang, Ms. Levy Strang, Mr. Julius Verano and Ms. Mary Bel Garcia conducted the third consular outreach mission for the benefit of the members of the Filipino community and their families in Auckland, New Zealand on 23-27 January 2012. Called “The Philippine Embassy in New Zealand: Serving with a Smile, Going the Extra Mile and Reaching Beyond Our Grasp” mobile consular services, a total of eight hundred eighty-four (884) Filipinos availed of the consular services covering passport renewal/issuance, authentication/notarials, NBI fingerprinting, dual citizenship acquisition and overseas absentee voting registration. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest commercial and business center with the largest population of Filipinos in various professions and work categories. A Filipino priest, Fr. Ruben Elago facilitated the arrangements for the holding of the mobile consular services at the Good Shepherd Parish Hall in Balmoral which is very accessible and convenient to the Filipinos in Auckland.
The Filipino community members were unanimous in reiterating their deep gratitude to the Philippine Government through the Philippine Embassy for rendering the much needed and sought after consular services right where they are residing and working. For them, this marked improvement in the delivery of more effective and efficient services is a historic first in New Zealand and highlighted our Government’s priority and concern for their welfare and well-being as well as a distinct recognition of the vital roles and contributions of the global Filipinos to nation-building in the Philippines and New Zealand. Among those who were extremely grateful for the Embassy’s mobile consular service was a Filipino family with eight children, the youngest of whom was just three days old and several Filipinos who came all the way from Hamilton and the areas near Auckland. According to them, this has saved them a big amount of travelling funds which they would have spent if they had to go all the way to Wellington and became convenient for their families to just come here on site. “Thank you so much for this excellent and timely service. We hope that this will be a regular service for the benefit of many Filipinos in Auckland,” many members of the Filipino community said. There was also a good response to the overseas absentee voting registration among the Filipino community who expressed appreciation for the opportunity to exercise their right to suffrage in their homeland.
Ambassador Benavidez stressed that the Embassy will always be there for them 24/7 as protecting and advancing the interests of overseas Filipinos make up one of the three key pillars of Philippine foreign policy. “As Auckland has the largest concentration of workers in New Zealand, the Philippine Embassy Team held the second mobile consular service on 13-15 December 2011 and this time in January 2012,” Ambassador Benavidez stated. In the following months, the Embassy is scheduled to hold mobile consular services and overseas absentee voting registration in the North Islands for the benefit of thousands of Filipinos working in dairy farms, agricultural areas, manufacturing companies, offices and agencies.