Mabuhay!
There has been an exciting start to the year with the Filipino community celebrating the Filipino feast, Santo Niño. In South Australia there were three celebrations held over three weeks.
The first was the Santo Niño de Filipinas held on Sunday 10th January at the Mater Christi Church. There was a large turn out even with the COVID-19 restrictions in place. Dancing and the procession were limited. There was great fellowship after with free meals being supplied to everyone who attended.
The second event was the Senor Sto Niño de Cebu Fiesta. This was the 40th celebration in Adelaide and was held at Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish on Sunday the 17th of January. The event this year was smaller with only a recitation of the Rosary and a Mass, due to COVID-19 constraints.
The third event was held by the Santo Niño Port Pirie Filipino community. It was their 10th anniversary. On the Saturday night of the 23rd, a semi-formal dinner was held with 100 people in attendance. The highlight was a 30-minute video of the last 10 years of events. On Sunday, a procession was held followed by a Mass at the Saint Mark’s Cathedral presided by Bishop Karol Kulczycki.
Congratulations to all the groups on these milestones and for putting together the events at this important time for the Filipino community.
Philippine Consular office in Adelaide remains open
From the start of January, the Adelaide Consulate is supervised by the Melbourne Consulate office. There are no changes to the way the Adelaide office operates. Hopefully in the near future, we will have a visit from the officials in Melbourne to South Australia.
The Philippine Consular Office in South Australia remains open to assist Filipinos in SA. Email or call. Please also take time to check the Philippine Embassy, Canberra website for developments in the Philippines and in Australia. In the last three years, the month of January saw the largest number of Filipinos asking for assistance from the Consulate office.
Passport extension has been available to some Filipinos if they meet the requirements. You can only receive an extension of 30 days from the expiry date of your passport and 30 days from your visa expiring. If your passport has expired, you cannot get an extension. This will continue at least for the first quarter of 2021.
If you are a natural-born Filipino citizen and no longer hold citizenship, the Philippine government encourages you to apply for dual citizenship as it restores all rights as a Filipino citizen including, but not limited to, right to vote, own land, practice professions restricted to Filipino citizens, and stay indefinitely in the country. Please visit through the Philippine Embassy, Canberra website for more details on how to apply and further updates in the future.
Keep up to date by liking my Facebook page “Consulate of the Philippines in South Australia”.
We are still doing NBI checks for visa requirements and Special Power of Attorneys and other Consulate duties in South Australia.
