24 February 2025, ROME – The Philippine Embassy in Rome conducted a consular outreach to Filipinos on 22-23 February 2025 at the historic Palazzo Corrado Alvaro in Reggio Calabria. The activity was held in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate in Reggio Calabria led by Consul Francesco Mortelliti, a.h,. and the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, headed by Mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà.
The consular outreach team, led by Ambassador Neal Imperial and Consul General Randy Arquiza, rendered a total of 321 services, which includes passport applications, civil registry services, and consultations on assistance-to-nationals (ATN) services and other consular services. Consul General Arquiza also administered the oath of allegiance to fifty-one (51) Filipinos who chose to retain their Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225. Also, the Philippine Consulate in Reggio Calabria processed sixteen (16) notarization services.
The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Rome also rendered services to 131 clients, including processing of membership and renewal applications, counselling to seniors and Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The Social Security System (SSS) attended to 104 clients.
On 22 February 2025, Ambassador Imperial, accompanied by Consul General Arquiza and Consul Mortelliti, called on Mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà, and discussed ways to foster cooperation between the two sides. Ambassador Neal expressed the Embassy’s appreciation to the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria for its hospitality to Filipino migrant workers. During the meeting, they expressed their commitment to strengthening ties between the Philippines and the region.
With an estimated 2,220 Filipinos, Reggio Calabria hosts the third-largest Filipino concentration in Southern Italy, after Sicily and Campania.
The mission was also made possible through the support of the Office of Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which funded the activity. END
