17 October 2016 – In a ceremony steeped in tradition and royal pageantry, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Evan P. Garcia presented his credentials to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, marking his formal assumption of duties as the country’s top representative to the United Kingdom.

Ambassador Garcia handed The Queen his letter of credence and the letter of recall of his predecessor. He was accompanied by his wife, Atty. Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia, herself a career ambassador of the Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as Deputy Chief of Mission Gilberto B. Asuque, Consul General Senen T. Mangalile, Deputy Consul General Myla Grace Ragenia C. Macahilig, and Commercial Attaché Anne Marie Kristine Umali.                                                                                                                           

During his private audience with the Queen, Ambassador Garcia reiterated his commitment to further strengthen the relationship between both countries, and mentioned the important contributions of Filipinos in the UK to British society, particularly in the health sector.

The Ambassador and his party, in their Filipiniana finery, were conveyed to Buckingham Palace by Mr. Alistair Harrison, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, in a convoy of two State Landaus, or horse-drawn carriages, from the Royal Mews and a Rolls Royce limousine with the royal crest. The carriage procession, escorted by mounted elements and motorcycle riders of the Metropolitan police, progressed through The Mall and was witnessed by throngs of people massed around the Queen Victoria Memorial outside the Palace gates.

After the Palace ceremony, Ambassador Garcia hosted a vin d’honneur at the Philippine Embassy on Suffolk Street for officials of the UK Government, members of Parliament, ambassadors and high commissioners of ASEAN and neighboring countries, and select representatives of the business sector.

In his remarks and toast to President Rodrigo Duterte, Mr. Julian Evans, Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, noted that there are thousands of British citizens living in the Philippines and Filipinos living in the UK and cited this as a manifestation of the ever-deepening relations between the two countries. Ambassador Garcia, in his reply and toast to Her Majesty, emphasized that the strength of bilateral relations between the two countries is based largely on an ongoing narrative of two peoples separated by geography but are joined by shared values and common aspirations.

Although Ambassador Garcia has been operational as the country’s envoy since May, the formal ceremony of presentation of credentials took place only after The Queen resumed her royal duties in London following a summer at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. His presentation ceremony was the first to be held in the present cycle of royal engagements. END