Toronto Filipino Community has a New Philippine Consul General
Toronto-Canada
September 28, 2019
The Philippine government has a "new man in town". The Filipino Canadian community warmly welcomes the arrival and assignment of a fresh Philippine Consul General in Toronto, Canada. He is Mr. Orontes V. Castro who officially took over the diplomatic post of the late beloved Consul General Rosalita Prospero who died in office on May 28, 2019.
Mr. O. Castro, who started performing the Consulate General's leadership and consular duties last week, is a seasoned diplomat and certified professional in the Philippines, both in the government service and the private sectors. Currently, he holds the rank of Chief of Mission II in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines.
As a top Philippine foreign affairs officer, ConGen O. Castro served in various capacities and ranks. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fiscal Management Services and as Assistant Secretary and Chief of Protocol of the Office of Protocol of the Department of Foreign Affairs-Manila before being assigned currently in Toronto.
His stint in the diplomatic world brought him challenging assignments in New York and Chicago, USA as well as in Beirut, Lebanon. He worked first as Third Secretary and Vice-Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon from 1996 to 2000 and as Vice-Consul and then Consul, from 2000 to 2003, at the Philippine Embassy in New York. For 3 years, from 2007 until 2013, he served as Deputy Consul General at the Philippine Consulate in Chicago.
As an accounting professional, O. Castro worked previously at the Philippine International Trading Corporation( PITC), the Philippine government's state trading firm, as Division Chief of its accounting department. After university and prior to his government position, he was employed as an auditor at the prestigious accounting firm of Sycip, Gorres & Velayo ( SGV & Co.) in Makati City,
ConGen O. Castro's training and education portray highly inspiring academic achievements. He is a CPA- certified public accountant in the Philippines and has obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, major in Accounting and awarded Cum Laude, from the University of the East, Manila. He also completed some courses in taxation and business law from Indiana University, USA. This year, on June 8th, he gained a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the Graduate School of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, again, with Cum Laude honours. His dissertation paper was adjudged as “Benemeritus” or Well Deserving by a 3-member panel of evaluators.
A recipient of numerous awards and recognition, ConGen O. Castro received 2 Presidential Awards and Decorations: the Presidential Medal of Merit and the Mabini Award "for acts of merit and distinguished service in promoting the interests and enhancing the prestige of the Philippines". He also received a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding service to Filipinos in Lebanon from the Archdiocese of Cagayan and Letters of Commendation from Illinois state government officials "for excellent service" for both Filipinos and Americans in the midwest, USA.
Fluent in Filipino, English and French languages and has basic knowledge of Spanish and German, ConGen O. Castro is the proud son of a Filipino World War II veteran and the United States "Congressional Gold Medal" awardee. He is honoured and delighted to be assigned in Toronto and he looks forward to focusing and meeting the challenges of being the Philippine government's diplomatic mandarin in Canada's largest city with the biggest Filipino population. ( Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Ret.).