Consular outreach in Alaska provides services to more than 1,600 Filipinos

The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, led by Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer, held a consular outreach mission Aug. 25-28, in Anchorage, Alaska. The outreach also involved a mobile registration for overseas Filipino voters. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco held consular outreach services in Anchorage, Alaska and provided over 1,600 services to Filipinos and Fil-Ams in the state.

A 13-person team led by Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer provided services, such as passport renewal, retention or reacquisition of Philippine citizenship (dual citizenship), civil registry, notarial and legal services, to Filipinos and Fil-Ams residing in Anchorage and the far reaches of Alaska, such as Unalaska, Dutch Harbor, and Kodiak.

A total of 930 Filipinos applied for passports; 386 reacquired their Filipino citizenship under Republic Act 9225; 63 people had their documents legalized; 40 registered their own or their families’ vital events; and 247 registered for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV).

Fil-Am community leaders and volunteers, including Philippine Honorary Consul for Alaska Rebecca Carillo and Mr. Quint Bagcal, chair of the Planning Committee for the outreach in Anchorage, provided valuable support for the successful conduct of the consular outreach mission.

Alaska State officials who are of Filipino descent, including Chief-of-Staff Randy Ruaro from the Office of the Governor and Deputy Commissioner for Labor Nelson San Juan, also provided support for the outreach.

The consular outreach, held amid the ongoing pandemic, afforded Filipinos and Fil-Ams the necessary consular services without having to travel to San Francisco. This is the 6^th consular outreach mission conducted by the Consulate this year.

There are two more upcoming consular outreaches this year — in Oregon on 8-11 September and on 22-25 September in Montana.