The Embassy would like to inform the public that, in celebration of the 1st anniversary of the establishment of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Reggio Calabria, Honorary Consul General Domenico Marciano organized the official visit of Ambassador Romeo L. Manalo to Reggio Calabria and Messina in the South of Italy on 22-23 October 2010.

 On the first day of the visit (22 October), Ambassador Manalo met, on separate and successive meetings,with a total of five key local government officials, namely: (i) Luigi Varratta, Prefect of Reggio Calabra; (ii) Giuseppe Raffa, Mayor of Reggio Calabra; (iii) Alessandro Nicolo, Vice President of the Regional Council of Calabria; (iv) Francesco Alecci, Prefect of Messina; and (v) Giuseppe Buzzanca, Mayor of Messina. The Prefect is representative of the executive branch of government in each region of Italy.

The local government officials were unanimous in conveying to the Ambassador the appreciation of the people and government of Italy for the hard work, dedication and honesty of Filipinos migrants in Italy; and for being a migrant community that has been integrated in the Italian society.

In response, Ambassador Manalo thanked the local government of Italyfor itshospitality and acceptance of the estimated 3000 Filipino migrants based in Reggio Calabria and Messina. The Ambassador also stressed his commitment to work for a wholistic and deeper understanding and appreciation by Italians of the true essence of a Filipino: his history and culture. Collaborative projects between the Embassy and the local government officials were encouraged to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations, as well as to further enhance the welfare of Filipinos in Italy.

To cap the activities for the first day, the Ambassador met with the members of the Filipino community in Messina who expressed gratitude and appreciation at the fact that Ambassador Manalo was the first Filipino Ambassador to visit Messina.

On the second day (23 October), the Ambassador held a forum with the leaders of the Filipino community in Reggio Calabria and Messina, and partook of the lunch hosted by Honorary Consul General Marcianoin celebration of the first anniversary of the establishment of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Reggio Calabra.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Embassy commenced its 2-day consular service outreach for the Filipino community. The day ended with a dinner that was hosted by the Filipino community of Reggio Calabra for the Ambassador and the Embassy consular team.

In all his interactions with the members of the Filipino community, Ambassador Manalo encouraged all Filipinos to avoid complacency and to aim high, to learn the Italian language, to integrate better and to continue to appreciate one’s roots – towards that shared goal of a better future for themselves and for their children.

The Philippine Embassy would appreciate if the above-mentioned information could be disseminated to interested individuals or community members.