13 April 2016 - On April 10, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Domingo P. Nolasco met with the leaders of the Filipino community based in the island of Sicily in the south of Italy. Leaders from Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro were also present at the meeting.

The Ambassador highlighted the importance of voting in the ongoing national elections and explained the procedures for the mixed automated election voting (personal or postal) being conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Rome. Ambassador Nolasco also listened to the concerns of the community and assured them of conduct of periodic outreaches and programs to bring Embassy services closer to their respective areas. 

On the same weekend (April 09 to 10), the Embassy, with the cooperation of the Philippine Consulate in Palermo and Philippine Don Bosco Association – Palermo, also conducted an outreach mission.

The outreach team, which is composed of the Embassy’s Consular Section, Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Security System (SSS), and Pag-IBIG, led by Consul General Leila Lora-Santos processed, among others, 494 applications for ePassports, 25 Reports of Births, five  Reports of Marriage, and four dual citizenship applications. Consul General Lora-Santos also administered the Oath of Allegiance of 31 former Filipinos who reacquired their Philippine citizenship.

POLO-OWWA serviced a total of 291 Filipinos, with 245 OWWA membership processed and 39 assisted for Balik-Manggagawa online (BM On-line). SSS and Pag-IBIG representatives serviced 105 and 81 clients respectively.

The next outreach mission is scheduled from April 16 to 17 at the Multipurpose Hall of the Millennium Chapel, Church St., St. Julian’s in the Republic of Malta. END