PH EMBASSY IN ROME SERVES 1,510 FILIPINOS IN MALTA

8 December 2023, ROME – Overseas Filipinos from different parts of Malta were served by the Philippine Embassy in Rome and its partner agencies, which rendered a total of 1,510 consular and other related services during a consular outreach mission held at the Catholic Institute in Floriana, Malta on 7-8 December 2023.

The consular outreach mission was conducted in partnership with the Philippine Consulate in Malta headed by Consul Roger Strickland, a.h.. Among the services rendered by the Embassy were passport applications, civil registry, certifications and notarizations for civil registry applications, consultations on consular and assistance-to-nationals services, and overseas voting registration of Filipino nationals. Four (4) overseas Filipinos took their oath to retain or reacquire their Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225.

The Migrant Workers Office in Rome (MWO-Rome), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Rome (OWWA-Rome), and Social Security Services (SSS), and Pag-IBIG offices also joined the mission and processed a combined total of 1,021 transactions. This included a Post Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) attended by 343 participants.

On 7 December 2023, in the sidelines of the consular outreach mission, Ambassador Neal Imperial, Minister and Consul Donna Celeste Feliciano-Gatmaytan, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ma. Claribel Ochoa, Assistant Labor Attaché/Officer -in-Charge Rosemarie Luntao, and Welfare Officer Norlita Lugtu, met with 16 Filipino community leaders representing 8 Filipino community associations and groups in Malta. The Ambassador conveyed the Embassy’s priority projects, services, and programs for overseas Filipinos in Malta, as well as the challenges it faces, along with plans on addressing them.

“We will strive to pursue a labor cooperation agreement with Malta in the near future as we want to facilitate the orderly entry of our OFWs, discourage third-country hiring which makes our workers susceptible to abuses, and diversify the sectors and industries where they work,” said Ambassador Imperial.

The Filipino community leaders were then given the opportunity to raise their questions and concerns to the Embassy and the Consulate. A productive dialogue and exchange of ideas ensued.

The Philippine Embassy in Rome has concurrent jurisdiction over Malta, which is home to an estimated 15,000 Filipinos. This is the second consular outreach mission conducted by the Embassy in Malta for this year. END