New office bearers were sworn in and a number of residents were made dual citizens of Australia and the Philippines at a ceremony in Shepparton on Sunday, September 22.
Over a lunch enjoyed by about 100 people, the new Community of Filipino Australians celebrated with an oath-taking ceremony and the swearing in of new office bearers.
A special guest was Philippines Consul-General Maria Lourdes M. Salcedo, who conducted the ceremony giving dual citizenship.
Ms Salcedo noted there were about 95,000 people of Filipino ancestry in Victoria, and more than 400,000 in Australia.
“This represents the fifth largest migrant group in Australia,” she said.
She urged the group to become engaged with public service as a way of giving back to the community.
She also urged the group to foster unity with other Filipino organisations.
Shepparton police multicultural liaison officer Leigh Johnson addressed the lunch, along with Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District chief executive Sam Atukorala.