- Source: Embassy of the Philippines, Bucharest
The Embassy of the Philippines in Bucharest is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to Romania. It is located in the neighborhood of Aviației, part of Sector 1 in northern Bucharest, near the Floreasca City Center mixed-use development.
Although the current embassy dates from 2024, the Philippines also maintained a previous resident embassy in Romania between 1975 and 1993, and again until 2012.
History
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Romania were established on March 10, 1972, the first country in the Eastern Bloc to do so, and beginning a broader push during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos to normalize relations between the Philippines and countries within the bloc. Although relations were initially conducted through the Philippine Mission in Geneva, a resident embassy in Romania was later opened in March 1975, a month after the opening of the Romanian Embassy in Manila, with Leticia Ramos-Shahani serving as the Philippines' first ambassador to Romania as well as the first woman to serve as ambassador to a country in the bloc.
The Embassy was closed in 1993 due to financial difficulties, but was reopened sometime later. This second mission was also responsible for conducting the country's relations with Bulgaria and Moldova.
After a massive expansion of the Philippines' diplomatic presence abroad during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in 2010 Senator Franklin Drilon questioned the need for embassies in countries with small Filipino communities, including a number of countries in Europe, and called for a review of the Philippines' diplomatic presence worldwide. This would lead to the closure of ten posts under Arroyo's successor, Benigno Aquino III, and ultimately to the closure of the Embassy for a second time on October 31, 2012. While it was closed, all three countries where it exercised jurisdiction were placed under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Budapest.
On November 15, 2022, during budget deliberations for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Senator Loren Legarda announced that the Embassy was one of four missions that would reopen in 2024 as part of an expansion of the Philippines' diplomatic presence under Bongbong Marcos. This was later confirmed by the Budapest mission on January 29, 2024 when, during its annual consular outreach mission in Bucharest, it noted that this would be its last consular mission owing to the Embassy's impending reopening later in the year, and the DFA itself confirmed the reopening on June 21, 2024 during the opening of a new honorary consulate in Brașov.
The advance team setting up the Embassy announced that they had arrived in Bucharest on September 14, 2024, and are preparing to immediately begin offering consular services once the mission has completed all the required procedures for opening. Limited consular services will begin to be offered on October 23, 2024, with the Embassy fully opening on November 4, 2024.
Chancery
Until its closure in 2012, the chancery of the Philippine Embassy in Bucharest was located on Strada Carol Davila in Cotroceni, part of Sector 5 in the western part of Bucharest, between the Bucharest Botanical Garden and the Cotroceni Palace. With its reopening, it set up a new chancery at the Floreasca Plaza Centre on Calea Floreasca in Aviației, leasing a temporary space from serviced office provider Regus.
Staff and activities
The Philippine Embassy in Bucharest is provisionally headed by a chargé d'affaires, pending the reception of a new ambassador appointed by the Philippine government. The current chargé d'affaires is Siegfred T. Masangkay, while the last resident ambassador was Isaias F. Begonia. A career diplomat who was appointed to the position by President Arroyo, he was previously deployed to the Philippine Embassy in Doha as ambassador to Qatar. His appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on May 27, 2009, and he retired from the foreign service the following year. At the time the Embassy closed in 2012, it was headed by Maria Fe T. Pangilinan as chargée d'affaires.
With the Embassy's impending reopening it is set to be headed by a new ambassador, Noel Eugene E. Servigon, who was appointed to the position by President Marcos on June 11, 2024. Prior to becoming Ambassador, Servigon, a career diplomat, served as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. His appointment was confirmed by the CA on August 7, 2024.
See also
Philippines–Romania relations
List of diplomatic missions of the Philippines
References
External links
Official Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Bucharest
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Hubungan luar negeri Jepang
- Embassy of the Philippines, Bucharest
- Embassy of the United States, Bucharest
- List of diplomatic missions of the Philippines
- Embassy of Canada, Bucharest
- List of diplomatic missions in Moldova
- Philippines–Romania relations
- Embassy of Moldova, Bucharest
- Embassy of the Philippines, Moscow
- List of diplomatic missions in Serbia
- Embassy of France, Bucharest
