Our long-distance relationship with Italy

As the Italian Parliament drafts its Indo-Pacific strategy, we may soon count another country among our closest allies in upholding our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. 

Among those who were invited to share their input in a fact-finding hearing of the Italian parliament  was our top envoy to Rome, Ambassador Nathaniel “Neal” Imperial. Aligned with the Philippine government’s stance on the matter, the ambassador told the subcommittee that our government expects “Italy, as a major stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific, to support the rule of law and a rules-based order in our region.”

Previously, Italy had expressed its support for international law, when they recognized the Hague’s 2016 Arbitration Ruling in the communique adopted by the Group of Seven (G7) last year, and again in June this year, under Italy’s G7 presidency, and when the group also condemned China’s aggressive actions against Filipino vessels and their crew.

I count Neal as one of my closest friends, from way back to my days in Ateneo. It was a pleasant opportunity that we could catch up, that I could know more about the situation of our country’s relationship with Italy, and how some of our kababayans are faring 10,000 kilometers from home.

Apart from being the president’s alter ego in foreign policy discussions with Italy, Neal also has another important marching order: to reconnect their office to the growing community of more than 160,000 Filipinos in the foreign country, the largest Filipino diaspora in the European Union.

"This is one of our top priorities, and we're making progress by involving them more in our activities and programs," Neal told me. “We're also doing our best to make our consular and labor services more efficient as we interact with every Filipino.”

From our conversation, I found out that it has become common for some of our overseas Filipino workers to raise their family in Italy. "In fact, those who have been here long enough are also now seeing the second or third generation of their family."

This next generations, according to Neal, are better integrated into Italy's society. "They're fluent with the language, and a growing number are even finishing college or