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
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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
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NewsTranscript
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.