28 March 2017 WELLINGTON — The Philippine Embassy in Wellington convened its first Diplomatic Chamber (DCham) partnership with Hutt City, Wellington Region on March 20.

Philippine Ambassador Jesus S. Domingo forged the partnership with Mayor Ray Wallace and Vice-Mayor David Bassett of the Hutt City Council, Member of Parliament Chris Bishop, Ms. June Pranson of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and Filipino Community Leader Mr. Gregguil Besa.

The DCham is an initiative of the Embassy aimed at strengthening PHL-NZ bilateral relations through partnering cities and grass-roots stakeholders of the two countries.

Taguig City is seen to join the DCham partnership between the Philippine Embassy and Hutt City. Both the Cities of Taguig and Hutt are important and dynamic residential, commercial and techno-industrial hubs of their respective National Capital Regions.  Ambassador Domingo had earlier obtained the support of Mayor Lani Cayetano of Taguig City for the partnership.

The DCham differs from the traditional “Sister City” framework in that Embassies play a key role in the partnership.  The partnership is open to other cities as suggested by Mayor Cayetano who serves as Chair of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP). 

The DCham leverages partnerships between stakeholders in the participating Cities, particularly Chambers of Commerce, Universities, Schools and Civic Organizations such as Rotary, Lions and Jaycees International, within the Embassy’s “Universal Diplomacy” framework.

The Embassy is in active discussion with other cities, districts and regions in New Zealand for inclusion in the DCham, including Upper Hutt, Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Waimakariri and Ashburton. END