Hundreds of Filipinos get dual citizenship, passports in Florida and Utah

Porfirio Luna Aguirre, 102, of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, may be the oldest dual citizenship applicant to date. He acquired dual citizenship during the Philippine Embassy’s outreach mission in Jacksonville, Florida. CONTRIBUTED  

WASHINGTON D.C. –A consular outreach mission in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 15 to 17 swore in 298 Filipino Americans who acquired dual citizenship. The 30,000- strong Filipino community in Jacksonville is the largest Asian  minority in the city.

The outreach held by the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC also processed 756 passport renewal applications.

Porfirio Luna Aguirre, 102, of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, may be the oldest dual citizenship applicant to date, whose oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines was administered by the embassy.

Volunteers from the various Filipino organizations assisted the team in the conduct of the outreach mission: Philippine Nurses Association, Travelers of Jacksonville, Knights of Rizal and Auxiliary Group, to mention a few. Consul General Iric C. Arribas led the 7-member consular team.

(For updates on subsequent consular outreach missions, visit www.philippineembassy-dc.org.)

Meanwhile, a total of 646 consular services were rendered by the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco during its outreach mission in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 16-18  at the BYU Salt Lake Center.

Applicants from all over Utah and other states such as Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington, traveled to Salt Lake City to avail themselves of services.

Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug (front-right) and Tourism Director Soleil Tropicales (front-left) promote Philippine products and destinations to applicants during the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco’s Consular Outreach Mission at BYU Salt Lake Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 16-18 July. CONTRIBUTED

The outreach was co-organized by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) Utah, with the valuable support of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the use of the BYU Salt Lake Center.  It was the third mission conducted by the Consulate in 2022, following its outreach in Colorado in June 2022.

Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Tourism joined the outreach to promote trade, investments, and tourism in the Philippines.

(Filipinos residing under the Consulate’s jurisdiction may visit pcgsanfrancisco.org/consular-outreach-missions/ for details on succeeding outreach missions in 2022.)