BAGUIO CITY - The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) announced the establishment of a new satellite office in Baguio City, set to open in the first week of August, aiming to better serve the Filipino diaspora from Northern Luzon.
According to Philippine News Agency, Supervising Immigrant Services Officer at the CFO, during a press conference on Tuesday, the new office will be the third of its kind, joining others in Cebu and Davao which serve the Visayas and Mindanao regions respectively. Ramos emphasized the importance of registering with the CFO for Filipinos planning to migrate, to ensure they remain connected with Philippine government policies and support services while abroad.
The CFO provides critical pre-departure orientation and counseling for those who have secured visas but have not yet left the Philippines. Its database currently includes approximately 2.53 million Filipinos who hold immigrant visas, permanent resident visas, and other visa types that potentially lead to foreign citizenship. This figure exclusively accounts for those who have migrated directly from the Philippines, excluding those who obtained visas while already abroad.
Ramos highlighted that a significant portion of the Filipino immigrants listed with the CFO, about 35 percent, originate from Northern Luzon, particularly the Ilocos region. The majority of these migrants relocate to countries like the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, and Britain.