New Philippine Consul General-designate Marford M. Angeles met with leaders of the Filipino community on Saturday, vowing transparency, honesty and solution-based approach as the hallmarks of his leadership.
Angeles, 49, is no stranger to the UAE, having served as the deputy head of mission and consul-general at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi since October 2019 before moving to Dubai this month.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with the media and officers of various Filipino organisations, Angeles said he is cognizant of his responsibilities as head of the consulate serving about 650,000 Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (DNE).
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He will be leading a team of 49 people, including himself, at the consulate. He noted DNE is the biggest and one of the busiest Philippine missions. Last year, the consulate received a total of 36,966 queries alone on WhatsApp, excluding direct messages on FB Messenger. “That’s more than 3,000 inquiries per month, or 140 per working day, or 17 queries per working hour that we have to attend to, aside from our other consular work,” Angeles noted.
He added: “I will not make any grandiose promises, but will work quietly and sincerely to deliver services to his ‘mga kababayan’ (countrymen) so they will view the consulate not just as a service provider but also a partner between the Philippine government and overseas Filipinos.”
Angeles, who is the 7th Philippine consul-general, said one of the highlights of his term is the celebration of 50 years of UAE- Philippine diplomatic relations. Aside from that, this year also marks the 20th year of the establishment of the Philippine Consulate, that opened to the public on April 6, 2004.
The first Philippine consul-general was Generoso D.G. Calonge (2004-2006), followed by Antonio Curameng (2006-2008); Benito Valeriano (2008-2012); Frank R. Cimafranca (2012-2015); Paul Raymund P. Cortes (2015-2021); and Renato N. Dueñas, Jr (2021-2024).
Career diplomat
Angeles is a career diplomat with 26 years of work in Philippine foreign service. He entered the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in 1997.
His first consular assignment was at the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he served as third secretary and vice consul from 2003 to 2006.
He was then assigned at the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as second secretary and consul from 2006 to 2009, followed by another posting as deputy head at the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney from 2011 to 2017 and as chargé d’affaires at the same post until 2018.
Angeles was deputy head of mission and consul general at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi from October 2019 until March 2024, before being assigned in Dubai.
He also served in various capacities at the Office of the United Nations and other International Organisations (UNIO), the Office of ASEAN Affairs, and the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Coordination (OSPPC).
Angeles is married to Joan Angeles, with whom he has been together for the past 21 years.