John Rivas

Honorary Consul John Rivas

"I pushed myself with the though that I must go abroad to fulfill my dreams," Rivas said, who eventually pursued his passion for teaching in Sydney, before he and his wife, the former Edna Morante, a native of Plaridel, Bulacan, whom he met while studying and teaching in Manila, moved to the City of Darwin in the Australian North Territory.

Darwin and the rest of the Northern Territory is the second home of more than 5,000 Filipinos where they are the second biggest foreign group of residents behind the Greeks, Rivas said

DREAMING TO DO MORE

More than 30 years later, and after serving as president of the Filipino-Australian Association of the Northern Territory for eight years since 2000, the Kabankalan native is dreaming to do more for his people and his new country after his June 2008 appointment as Honorary Consul of the Philippine government to the Northern Territory was confirmed by the Australian government in November. FAANT was founded in 1973.

In his first official visit to his home country and province last month performing consular duties, consul Rivas met with various government officials to discuss his agenda, which includes exploration of strengthened relations between the Philippines and the Northern Territory area, particularly along trade, tourism and education and also to seek government commitment to participate once more in the Arafura Games in Darwin scheduled May 9-17.
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Consul Rivas told StarLife that Filipinos are among the preferred human resources in Australia because of their English proficiency. He explained that starting last year, employers started to have stringent requirements for overseas workers as they have found difficulty with non-English speaking individuals. Consequently, the government is requiring a score of seven out of a Perfect Ten for professionals in its adopted International Language Testing System, which covers speaking, writing, reading and listening to the English language. The seven-point requirement covers each of the four areas, he added. For skilled workers, he said, the requirement is a score of 4.5, which ensures functional communication skills on the part of the foreign employee. He reiterated that Filipinos "are highly regarded by employers, other cultural groups and the Northern territory communities".
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Rivas, a highly-esteemed educator at the Casuarium Senior College in Darwin, has been teaching levels 10-12 students and constructing and developing programs in biology, chemistry, geology, marine science, human biology and nutrition, putting into invaluable use the Teaching Science course he studied at De La Salle University while he was still in the Philippines. He is also part of the mentoring program for his colleagues.

His track record in the profession eventually gave him a meritorious service plaque for 30 years of educating the Australian youth which was presented by the government's Department of Education.

His experiences as an educator and as a service-oriented individudual have had "placed the Filipino community and FAANT in the Australian map". The association received government assistance for the construction of its association building , the only foreign community to get government help , a gym which took seven years to complete. Because of the persistent efforts of the association, he said, "we gained good favor because of what we have done to improve multi-cultural, trade and other ties," he further said.
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Hon. Consul John Rivas can be reached through P.O. Box 42457, Casuarina, NT, Australia 0811 or his email address, philcon.nt@gmail.com

And if ever Filipinos, particularly we, Negrenses, should start taking pride in our brothers and sisters in that part of the world, it's because the Filipino community there has been recognized and well-received in Darwin, especially with the efforts of a native of our province, John Rivas, who served as president of the Filipino-Australian Association in he North Territory.

Having heard of the efforts in inviting and graciously accommodating the Kaanyag Dancers of West Negros University for at least two years, we decided to request for an interview with him when we learned that he was in town.

It was a double treat for us when we met him at the L'Fisher poolside when he informed us that while he is still supportive of the association, he is no longer its president after his appointment as Honorary Consul for the Northern Territory was confirmed by the Australian Government in November last year. His new position, obviously, is a recognition of his efforts in establishing and maintaining better ties between his country and his new homeland.

Consul Rivas reaffirmed, in our interview, the cultural diversity in Australia, especially in Darwin, which has among the biggest population of Asian immigrants in recent years. It is this diversity, he said that has made Australia culturally and socially vibrant.

lso in town is Consul John Rivas from Northern [more...]