The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) successfully conducted the online “Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) for Spouses of Foreign Service Personnel” on 07 – 08 October 2020 in synchronous sessions via Google Meet. Twelve (12) spouses of personnel due for posting from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), and the Department of National Defense (DND) completed the online PDOS.

The two-day Course was designed to provide and equip the spouses of foreign service personnel (FSP) with vital information, as well as the fundamental skills needed, on their roles as FSP spouses. The Course covered topics on protocol and social graces, diplomatic immunities, privileges for family members and private staff, pre-departure preparation arrangements, and financial wellness.

The Course’s Resource Persons were: Former Ambassador Eva Betita; Atty. Janina Bustos-Borromeo, Acting Director of DFA’s Division 1-Law, Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs; Mr. Glenn Joseph Q. Obach, Director of DFA’s Benefits, and Welfare Division, Human Resource Management Office, and Ms. Monika Kamille Limpo, Acting Director of DFA’s Strategic Planning Division, Office of Policy Planning and Coordination.

FSI’s Functional and Transition Programs Section conducted the online “PDOS for Spouses of Foreign Service Personnel” simultaneously with the regular PDOS.