In June 2021, the Commission on Appointments announced the appointment of fourteen Department of Foreign Affairs officers in their new posts. The announcement included the appointment of then Consul General for Philippine Consulate General in Sydney, the Hon. Ezzedin Hamdi Tago, as Chief of Mission, Class II, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Djibouti, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the State of Eritrea, and the Republic of the Sudan.
The time has come for the 18th Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney to leave his post in Sydney to commence his duty in Egypt. A lively online zoom event was attended by representatives of Fil-Aus community organisations and media groups on August 25 to farewell Hon. Tago.
The Ambassador to Australia, Her Excellency, Ma. Hellen de la Vega was the first speaker of the event to express congratulations and her appreciation of her collaboration with Hon Tago in serving the Fil-Aus community. At the end of her speech, the Ambassador reminded the community of the need to be vaccinated against COVID 19.
Hon. Tago also expressed his appreciation of the support that the Ambassador has given him during the two years of his duty in Sydney. He also expressed his thanks to the representatives of the community organisations in attendance in the zoom event, and recalled their experiences in events the Consulate had supported.
Before messages were heard from the community leaders present, Hon. Tago asked Mrs Linda Gillies who was part of the working party which lobbied for the inclusion of Filipino as a HSC subject. Mrs Gillie thanked ConGen Tago for the support he and the Consulate staff, in particular Ms Nova Lara have given in the recent initiative to promote Filipino in various high schools, albeit being on hold due to the COVID 19 restrictions.
This was followed by messages from the community leaders and media representatives in attendance. At the closing, ConGen Tago acknowledged each one present and expressed hope to see them visit Egypt. Consul Melanie Diano facilitated the zoom event. She and ConGen Tago also wished everyone safety and added their endorsement of the vaccination in helping prevent the spread of the virus.