PH EMBASSY IN ROME PROVIDES 792 CONSULAR SERVICES TO

FILIPINOS IN BARI AND NEARBY AREAS IN PUGLIA

04 MAY 2024, ROME – Overseas Filipinos from different parts of the region of Puglia in Italy such as Bari, Lecce, Monopoli, Ostuni, Gallipoli, Taranto, Brindisi and many others, were served by the Philippine Embassy in Rome and its partner agencies. The team rendered a total of 792 consular and other related services during a consular outreach mission held at Parrochia del Santissimo Redentore dei Salesiani, Via Martiri D’Otranto 65 70123 Bari, Italy on 04-05 May 2024.

The consular outreach team, headed by Ambassador Neal Imperial and Consul General Randy B. Arquiza, facilitated passport applications, civil registry, notarization, NBI fingerprinting, consultations on assistance-to-nationals services (report of death, consular mortuary certificates, shipment of remains etc), and overseas voting registration of Filipino nationals. Consul Ma. Claribel Ochoa also administered the oath of allegiance of twenty-two (22) overseas Filipinos who applied for the retention of 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 in Rome (SSS-Rome) also joined the mission and processed a combined total of 254 transactions. 

During the consular outreach mission, Consul General Arquiza and Assistant Labor Attaché Rosemarie Luntao briefed the members of the Filipino community in Puglia on the services that they could avail during the outreach mission, as well as the on-going and upcoming programs and projects of the Embassy for its clients. They also warned the public about recruitment and investment scams to prevent overseas FIlipinos and their loved ones in the Philippines from being victimized by these scams.

Puglia is home to 1,702 Filipinos according to the latest statistics from the Italian government. Majority of the clients served during the outreach mission were from Bari and Lecce.

This is the first consular outreach mission conducted by the Embassy in the region of Puglia for this year. The mission was made possible by the Office of Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy’s partner agencies. END