Philippine Embassy, London holds consular outreach mission in Iceland 

23 June 2006 – Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James's in London, UK Edgardo B. Espiritu reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that he led an Embassy consular outreach team to Reykjavik, Iceland on 17 – 18 June 2006 to provide consular services to over a hundred Filipinos living in the Reykjavik area. 

Ambassador Espiritu, who has concurrent jurisdiction over Iceland, said that the consular mission and their meetings with the local Filipino community were held at St. Mary's Parish Hall and at the Perlan, a unique tourism landmark in Reykjavik. 

The Ambassador said that the outreach mission took place at the same time as the celebration of Iceland's National Day, when the President of Iceland invited the different Ambassadors – both resident and non­resident – to participate in the various activities arranged by the Foreign Ministry. 

Ambassador Espiritu was accompanied by his wife Lydia, Consul General Mario de Leon, Finance Officer Arnel Santiago, Consular Officers Sherwin Santiago and Janet Lati, Communications Officer Jay Michael Tolentino, Labor Attaché Jainal Rasul, OWWA Officer Romarico Villaroman, and SSS Representative Alfredo Recio. 

On the second day of the mission, the Ambassador held a dialogue with members of the Filipino community to update them on developments in the Philippines, and to exchange views on various issues, particularly on consular and immigration matters. 

Ambassador Espiritu emphasized to the Filipinos the benefits they can obtain from the Dual Citizenship law, as well as the Overseas Absentee Voting law, and encouraged those qualified to re-acquire their Philippine citizenship and register as overseas absentee voters. He also stressed the view that the overseas Filipino would be an important factor in the election of the country's future political leaders. 

The Ambassador then announced that in view of the growing size and importance of the Filipino community in Iceland, the Embassy has recently recommended one of the pioneering leaders and pillars of the community, Mrs. Priscilla Zanoria, as Philippine Honorary Consul, adding that the approval of her appointment might take some time to be approved by the Philippine and Icelandic governments. 

Ambassador Espiritu reported to the Department that there are an estimated 1,200 Filipino nationals who presently reside in Iceland, many of whom settled through family reunification and marriage to Icelandic citizens.  Many of these Filipino nationals are employed in the marine industry and the service sectors, and a growing number of Filipinos in Iceland are professionals such as nurses and engineers. 

The Ambassador said that availment of dual citizenship and the announcement on the recommendation for the first-ever Philippine Honorary Consul in Iceland were well received by the community.  Most of the concerns raised during the open forum revolved around the advantages of dual citizenship and the need for a more visible and regular presence of the Embassy in Iceland.  The Embassy team took note of the distance of London from Reykjavik and the expenses relating to courier fees  to send in applications for consular services. 

The community expressed its gratitude and satisfaction that the Embassy was able to conduct consular services in Iceland for the first time. The dialogue was capped by a mass oath-taking for dual citizenship which involved 32 applicants. 

During the two-day outreach, the Embassy was able to process 74 OAV registrants, 50 passport renewals and 48 dual citizenship applications, which included 16 dependent children entitled to derivative citizenship. 

Labor Attaché Jainal Rasul likewise conducted a series of meetings with Icelandic officials on welfare issues concerning Filipino workers hired by Icelandic companies. He met with the Nursing Director of Landspitali (Iceland National Hospital), the Managing Director and Nursing Director of EIR and Skioll (the second biggest hospital and nursing home in Iceland), IsFiskhur (a fish factory), ORA (food canning plant), BG Cleaning Company, and other companies where a number of Filipinos are presently employed. 

Landspitali (counterpart of the National Health Service in UK) has signified its readiness to hire more Filipino medical staff.  Labor Attaché Rasul reported that a top-level representation will be made by the Philippine Embassy to facilitate the processing of work permits.  END