Signature drive for Philippine consular office in KK receiving overwhelming response
KOTA KINABALU : The ongoing signature campaign by the various Filipino leaders in Sabah continuously receiving overwhelming response from their respective members.
Community leader cum founder of Stairway to Success Alternative Learning Centre for Filipinos in Tawau Vicente Moran said hundreds of signatures had been collected since the campaign was launched early this month.
“We don’t experience any obstacles in seeking signatures from our fellow countrymen because most of them agree to the setting up of a consular general office in Kota Kinabalu,” he said when contacted Friday.
According to Vicente, his group in Tawau is targeting to collect no less than 1,000 signatures .
“There are even Malaysians, especially those dependent on Filipino workforce, expressing their intention to participate in the ongoing signature campaign,¨ he said.
He said the creation of the consul general office in the state capital would not only address the many problems faced by Filipinos, like proper documentation requirements, but would also help tighten bilateral relations between the Philippines and Malaysia.
Echoing a similar scenario, Cheryl Fernandez of the Sacred Heart Filipino Community expressed optimism that the signature campaign will achieve its desired goal and objective.
“We are glad that we are receiving a very good response from our members who understand clearly the logic of the creation of the consular office,” Cheryl added.
On her part, founder of Stairway to Hope Alternative Centre for Filipinos in Kota Kinabalu, Marylou Chin said the aggressive signature campaign would continue until October 31.
She said the original copies of the signature campaign would be submitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila and another certified copy would be forwarded to Cabinet Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto, who is heading the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
“I am reminding Filipinos in the state to fully support the signature campaign for the benefit of all,” Marylou said.
Meanwhile, other Filipino leaders urged the Philippine Ambassador Charles Jose to clarify and explain to them as to why the embassy still could not increase the 120 daily quota of consular applications during every consular mission conducted here.
The leaders also wanted to know the reason behind why embassy officials, especially Ambassador Charles Jose, refuses to interact with his community in Sabah despite being in the office for almost two years now.
“We have never heard that our Ambassador has paid an official courtesy call on Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal,” they said.
The embassy’s reason for not being able to serve as many applicants during consular missions was due to manpower shortage and limited documentation processing equipment.
“Yes, we understand the predicament of our embassy, but how come no solution has been found to address the problem for more than two years now?” they asked, adding that the embassy could not continue to give this kind of reasoning.