KITIMAT, BC FILIPINO-CANADIAN COUNCILOR EDWIN EMPIÑADO PAYS COURTESY CALL ON CONSUL GENERAL GINA A. JAMORALIN DISCUSSES POSSIBLE AREAS OF COOPERATION BETWEEN CONSULATE GENERAL AND THE DISTRICT OF KITIMAT

VANCOUVER, 19 September 2026 — Kitimat, BC Municipal Councilor Edwin Empiñado, accompanied by his family, paid a courtesy call on Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin at the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver on 15 September 2026. Councilor Empiñado was joined by his wife, Doris Empiñado, and their daughter, Abbie Empiñado. Also present during the call were Consul André Peter C. Estanislao and Migrant Workers Office (MWO) - Vancouver Labor Attaché Ma. Celeste Valderrama.

Councilor Empiñado made history in November 2011 when he became the first Canadian-Filipino elected as a municipal councilor in British Columbia. Demonstrating strong community trust and dedication, he was subsequently re-elected to office in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Councilor Empiñado and his wife Doris are both practicing registered nurses in British Columbia, while their daughter Abbie is a registered nurse in the Philippines. Councilor Empiñado has worked for decades at Kitimat General Hospital and served as an active steward and regional advocate within the BC Nurses’ Union.

During the meeting, Councilor Empiñado and Consul General Jamoralin exchanged views on critical community issues, primarily focusing on advocacy for the streamlined credentialing and recognition of foreign-trained professionals, particularly internationally educated healthcare workers across British Columbia.

The discussion also highlighted several key initiatives of the Consulate General aimed at community development and bilateral engagement. These included promoting winter tourism through Winter Escapade 2027, exploring a leadership development partnership with the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria for Filipino community leaders, discussing potential sister-city relationships between municipalities in Northwest British Columbia and local government units in the Philippines, and planning expanded mobile consular outreach missions to better serve the growing Filipino diaspora in the region.

Consul General Jamoralin commended Councilor Empiñado for his trailblazing public service and steadfast advocacy for the healthcare sector and the broader Filipino community in British Columbia.

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