Philippine Consul General in Dubai bids adieu, shares unforgettable moments in UAE

Gulf News

Philippine consul general bids adieu to kababayans in Dubai  Cortes, who took office in 2015 as Philippine consul-general in Dubai, will be leaving his post on August 19   Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3s95ICj  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #Dubai #Philippines

Transcript

00:00This is the moment, this is the day, this is the moment when I know I'm on my way.

00:10I've been the Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines here in Dubai for the past

00:14six plus plus years and it's been a whirlwind six plus plus years for me and my family.

00:22One of my first mantras in understanding what I needed to do in Dubai was to be myself.

00:31Who I was in the past is exactly who I would be during my tour of duty in Dubai because

00:39if I did not become honest as to who I am as a person, then I probably cannot fulfill

00:45my role as a leader of the Filipino community here, as a representative of the Philippine

00:54government to help out our constituency in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

01:00My beliefs, my understanding of what public policy means, my perspectives on how government

01:09should be able to mirror the hopes and dreams and visions of the Filipino community.

01:16Amnesty in 2018, where we were able to facilitate our cababayans going back home from the amnesty

01:24program instituted by the UAE, is something that first sticks to mind and it's something

01:34that has made us realize that there are really a lot of our fellow Filipinos who do need

01:40assistance and of course the pandemic time where many had lost their jobs, many wanted

01:47to go home and many have been stranded here in the UAE while waiting for flights back

01:56home.

01:57With these sorts of circumstances that we were faced, we've become more flexible and

02:03at the same time more attuned to the needs of our fellow Filipinos.

02:08What we also wanted to emphasize is that in government service, we work on finite resources.

02:16It is our responsibility and our obligation to allocate those finite resources in the

02:23most maximal terms so that we're able to help more people as necessary and by need.

02:29As such, there may be instances where some of those that have been brought to our attention

02:34may not fall within a priority or may not fall within the list of obligations that we

02:43could give into so that we have to make sure that these people likewise understand what

02:53the policy is and how best we can help more people and a greater segment of our society.

03:03Greatest achievements?

03:04Well, it's a huge, huge post and not only is it heavy as far as the consular work is

03:12concerned, but it's also heavy economically because Dubai is the center of economic activity

03:19in this part of the world.

03:21There were many opportunities for our business people and our commerce to link and collaborate

03:28with those based here and at the same time, because there is a huge diaspora, there was

03:34also importance placed on how the diaspora could help out not only as far as the community

03:43here was concerned, but also how they could help out with the development of the country

03:48back home.

03:49We've come up with many initiatives and luckily, these initiatives were recognized by our Department

03:59of Foreign Affairs so that as early as 2018, we got the Best Organization Award.

04:07We also got the Best Assistance to Nationals Unit.

04:14Also for 2017, we also received awards for our people as for Best Assistance to Nationals

04:26Employee, Best Employee for 2017, 18, and 19, and 2020 as well.

04:34We also received again Best ATN Assistance to Nationals Award in 2018 for our performance

04:41in 2018.

04:43Same thing with 2019 and well, this will be preemptory, but I believe we also received

04:51something for 2020.

04:53Of course, with all that, I also personally received an award from the Office of the President

05:00in 2017, awarded to me in 2018.

05:06This is a Presidential Award for service in diplomacy.

05:12Every endeavor I have made ever is coming into view.

05:20It's here and now, today.

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