12 April 2017, Ottawa - Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia welcomed officers of the newly-formed Filipino Students Association – uOttawa in a courtesy call held at the Philippine Embassy on 12 April 2017.

​Calling on the Ambassador are FSA Co-President Angelique Maiquez, VP External Steven Travale, VP Logistics Elle Tejano-Gallupo, VP Outreach Earl Tamayo and Mikhaela De La Pena, Social/Cultural Committee member Julia Mira Flores, and VP Philanthropy Bailey Clinton. Joining the Ambassador are DCM Francisco Noel Fernandez, Minister and Consul General Eric Gerardo Tamayo, Consul Greg Marino, and Vice Consul Siegfried Masangkay.

During the brief meeting, Ambassador Garcia, who was joined by other Embassy officers, lauded the effort of the students to create a Filipino-Canadian student group in Ottawa University. The Filipino Students Association – University of Ottawa is the first Filipino-Canadian student organization in the university.

Ambassador Garcia shared her observations on Filipino-Canadian youth, and underscored the importance of a Filipino community-based mentorship program to prepare Filipino-Canadian youths for their future roles in the Filipino community and in Canadian society.

The Ambassador looked forward to the organization’s active and meaningful cooperation with the Embassy, especially in fostering Filipino culture among the Filipino-Canadian youth and Canadian society. She encouraged them to network with other Filipino-Canadian student and youth groups in the Ontario area.