BANGKOK, 08 NOVEMBER 2024 - The Office of Financial Management Services (OFMS), Office of Assets Management and Support Services (OAMSS) and Bids and Awards Secretariat (BAC) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in collaboration with the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, successfully convened the 2nd Joint Retooling Seminar held last October 25 to 27 at The Okura Prestige in Thailand’s capital.  The activity saw the participation of 46 Finance Officers (FO) and 42 Property Officers (PO) of Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  It follows the completion of the 1st Joint Retooling Seminar, which was conducted in Hong Kong from September 6 to 8, 2024.

Similar to its forerunner, the second Retooling Seminar was part of the Department’s continuing learning and development program for its foreign service personnel. In addition to serving as a refresher course for the FOs and POs, the activity aims to provide relevant updates to enable them to effectively carry out their functions as guardians of Philippine government funds and properties overseas, and to professionalize and standardize assets management in the Department.

Topics for the second PO Retooling included property maintenance and preservation, property disposal, and the Department’s Car Refleeting Program and the Building Fund. The FOs were apprised of public financial management, accountability over public funds, accounting standards and principles, internal controls, and changes and updates on budgeting and Department financial rules and regulations.

A joint session was undertaken on the final day of the seminar for a discussion of concerns common to both finance and property management, such as government procurement, inventory cleansing and tagging, and fraud detection. END