PHILIPPINE CONSUL GENERAL, MILAN LAUNCHES WEEKLY DIALOGUE WITH PUBLIC  

22 February 2007 – Consul General Pedro O. Chan of the Philippine Consulate General in Milan, Italy, reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Consulate set aside Thursday afternoons for a “no-holds-barred” dialogue with the Filipino community dubbed as “Tanging Araw ng Pilipino sa Konsulado sa Milan” (“Special Day for the Filipino at the Consulate in Milan”) at the Consulate General’s new offices.  

Consul General Chan launched the weekly dialogue following a fruitful and constructive open forum with the Filipinos during the 3^rd Anniversary celebration of the Mindanao Overseas Workers Association in Milan on 18 February 2007.  

“I encourage all Filipinos who work or reside within the Consulate's jurisdiction, regardless of their immigration and residence status in Italy, to visit the Consulate on Thursday afternoons so that they may bring their problems and concerns directly to the my personal attention,” Consul General Chan said.  

Consul General Chan noted that while hundreds of Filipinos now troop every day to the Consulate, this move will “bring the Philippine government even closer to the thousands of Filipino migrant workers in the City of Milan , as well as those working in the outlying regions of Northern Italy that fall within the Consulate's consular jurisdiction.”  

“In this way, I believe that the Philippine Government can profit from the Filipinos' experience by adopting certain policies and programs that are attuned to the Filipino migrant workers' needs based on the Consulate's reports and recommendations to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila . These would ultimately redound to the benefit of the Filipino workers in Italy ,” he explained.  

The Consulate is well-equipped to render necessary and appropriate assistance and advice to Filipino nationals who would visit the Consulate every Thursday to dialogue with the Consul General. It has been extending free medical and dental advice and services to Filipinos in Milan every Thursday for a year now.  

The building of the Consulate houses other government agencies attached to the Consulate, including the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration under Labor Representative Atty. Araceli Maraya and Welfare Officer Julie Fabian, respectively; the Social Security System (SSS) under Mrs. Thelma Venturanza; Pag-ibig with Officer-in-Charge lan San Juan, and the Department of Trade and Industry with Trade Assistant Marison Carrillo.  

The Consulate recently transferred to its new and larger offices at Via Stromboli # 1, in front of Piazza Vesuvio, with the following new contact details: Telephone: 02 439 80 383; Fax: 02 439 11 229; E-mail address: milanpcg@libero.it. END

/jay

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