Посольство Филиппин, Дамаск
| Посольство Филиппин, Дамаск Филиппины' Посольство Филиппин в Дамаске  | |
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| Location | Damascus |
| Address | 56 Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib Street, Western Villas, Mezzeh |
| Coordinates | 33°29′49.5″N 36°14′0.5″E / 33.497083°N 36.233472°E |
| Chargé d'affaires | John G. Reyes |
| Website | https://damascuspe.dfa.gov.ph/ |
Посольство Филиппин в Дамаске является дипломатической миссией Республики Филиппин в Сирийской Арабской Республике . Открытый в 2009 году, он расположен в западном районе Муниципалитета Меззе на юго -западе Дамаска , недалеко от президентского дворца .
История
[ редактировать ]Хотя Филиппины и Сирия установили дипломатические отношения в 1946 году, Филиппины не установили посольство в стране гораздо позже, а дипломатические отношения изначально проводились через Филиппинское посольство в Каире . В 1960 году, в то время как Сирия была частью Объединенной Арабской Республики (UAR), отставной полковник Пулнг Арпа из Сулу был назначен президентом Карлосом П. Гарсией первым послом Филиппин в стране. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Хотя Сирия покинула UAR в следующем году в результате сирийского переворота 1961 года , миссия Каира продолжала осуществлять юрисдикцию по стране. [ 3 ] Юрисдикция над Сирией позже перешла в посольство Филиппин в Аммане , и после того, как Филиппинское посольство в Бейруте, когда оно открылось в 1996 году, [4] with an honorary consulate in Damascus serving the country.[5]
A resident mission in Syria was not opened until the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the Embassy was formally opened on April 17, 2009 to serve the country's then-growing Filipino community.[6] Following the closure of the honorary consulate in Damascus, one was opened in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city.[7]
Staff and activities
[edit]As of 2023[update], the Philippine Embassy in Damascus is provisionally headed by a chargé d'affaires, pending the appointment of a new ambassador by the Philippine government. The current chargé d'affaires is John G. Reyes, while the last (and so far, only) resident ambassador was Wilfredo R. Cuyugan, who was appointed to the position by President Arroyo. A career diplomat, his appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on June 11, 2008,[8] and he assumed his position with the mission's opening the following year.
Many of the Embassy's activities center around evacuating Filipinos fleeing the Syrian civil war, with over 4,500 Filipinos being repatriated by 2013,[9] and an activity it coordinates with the embassy in Beirut.[10] While most Filipinos have been evacuated, some still remain in the country and the Embassy occasionally reminds those who have remained that repatriation is still available to them, in addition to staying safe and indoors.[11] Aside from repatriation, the Embassy participates in a number of cultural activities, like promoting Philippine products at an international bazaar,[12] and holding an art exhibition and art therapy session for World Mental Health Day.[13]
On January 24, 2021, The Washington Post broke a story accusing Embassy officials of mistreating and abusing female Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), many of whom were trafficked into the country illegally, who were in their care.[14] OFWs who sought shelter at the Embassy have since been repatriated back to the Philippines,[15] with the first group of OFWs arriving into the country just two weeks after the Washington Post story broke,[16] and the last group arriving in the Philippines on June 24, 2021.[7] The DFA also opened an investigation into the conduct of Embassy staff soon after the story's publication.[17]
Appointment of a new ambassador
[edit]Appointing a new Philippine ambassador to Syria has likewise been complicated by the Syrian civil war, as well as controversies within the Philippine diplomatic service.[18]
On August 30, 2011, after Arroyo was succeeded as President by Benigno Aquino III, Cuyugan was controversially recalled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and replaced with chargé d'affaires Ricardo Endaya. DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez disclosed to the media that because the mission's focus has shifted to evacuating Filipinos from Syria, Cuyugan was replaced by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario with a diplomat with more experience in repatriation,[18] although the DFA was also reportedly incensed by Cuyugan's position that Filipinos in Syria were safe despite the deteriorating security situation there,[19] reinforced by a statement he made to the media to that effect.[20] Some Filipino community leaders in Syria questioned the timing of Cuyugan's recall and asserted that his position was not wrong but that they will nonetheless work with the mission's new leadership,[21] while others lauded the move, accusing Cuyugan of making those statements but not leaving the Embassy compound to assess the situation on the ground.[22]
Aquino would later appoint Nestor N. Padalhin, who formerly served as ambassador to Nigeria, as ambassador to Syria on March 9, 2012.[23] However, Padalhin's appointment was derailed after he had failed to disclose his ownership of a three-bedroom condominium in Seattle in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), a day after a similar SALN issue led to the successful impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.[24] He was nonetheless still appointed to head the Embassy, but instead as chargé d'affaires en pied, until the end of Aquino's term,[25] when Padalhin was then replaced by Alex V. Lamadrid after Aquino was succeeded by Rodrigo Duterte as President.[11] Lamadrid was subsequently recalled by the DFA after the Washington Post story broke, with the OFWs in question accusing him of ignoring their plight while, as they recalled to columnist Ramon Tulfo, "holding parties for his handsome Syrian friends".[26] Lamadrid was then replaced as chargé d'affaires by Verzosa, a human rights lawyer who was first deployed to Syria on December 20, 2020,[7] and who served in this capacity until January 27, 2023, when she was succeeded by Reyes as chargé d'affaires en pied.[27]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Appointments and Designations: June 6, 1960". Official Gazette. June 6, 1960. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Official Week in Review: July 24 – July 30, 1960". Official Gazette. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
Back in Malacañang about 11 a.m. the President received [...] Philippine Ambassador Pullong Arpa to the United Arab Republic, who is going back to his post after a few weeks' vacation here.
- ^ Lee-Brago, Pia (May 18, 2014). "Del Rosario off to Egypt to bolster bilateral relations". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "THE PHILIPPINE EMBASSY". Embassy of the Philippines, Beirut. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Punay, Edu (October 31, 2007). "BI blacklists Syrian for insulting RP consuls". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Fernando, Ellen (April 17, 2009). "Philippine Embassy sa Syria itinayo" [Philippine Embassy in Syria established]. Pilipino Star Ngayon (in Filipino). PhilStar Daily, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Santiago, Maxxy (July 1, 2021). "PH embassy shelter in Syria now empty, last batch of trafficked OFWs repatriated". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Cabinet men, officers, envoys get CA approval". GMA News and Public Affairs. June 11, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- ^ Lee-Brago, Pia (August 30, 2013). "DFA concerned over safety of OFWs in Syria". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Aning, Jerome (May 30, 2014). "More Filipinos come home from Syria". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Mateo, Janvic (April 22, 2018). "Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy ready to repatriate Pinoys in Syria". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Santiago, Maxxy (October 6, 2021). "Pinoy products take spotlight in Damascus International Charity Bazaar". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Art exhibit binuksan ng PH Embassy Syria" [Art exhibit opened by PH Embassy in Syria] (in Filipino). ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. November 4, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ McQue, Katie (January 24, 2021). "Sold into Syrian servitude, Filipina workers tell of abuse, rape and imprisonment". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Tulfo, Ramon T. (July 7, 2022). "Protect abused household workers". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Perez-Rubio, Bella (February 6, 2021). "6 Filipino women who were trafficked to Syria, now on the way home — DFA". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Viray, Patricia Lourdes (January 25, 2021). "DFA investigates staff for possible abuse of trafficking victims staying at embassy in Syria". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "PH recalls envoy to Syria". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. August 30, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Fernando, Ellen (August 31, 2011). "Sumablay sa repatriation, Envoy sa Syria sinibak" [Failing in repatriation, envoy to Syria fired]. Pilipino Star Ngayon (in Filipino). PhilStar Daily, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Ligtas ang mga Pinoy sa Syria, ayon sa isang opisyal" [Filipinos in Syria are safe, according to one official] (in Filipino). GMA News and Public Affairs. April 23, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Santiago, Maxxy; Cruz, RG (August 31, 2011). "Timing of Syria envoy's recall wrong, say Pinoys". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Corpuz, Niña (23 июня 2016 г.). «Сотрудники отчеты о замене посланника в Сирию» (на филиппинском языке). ABS-CBN News и текущие дела Получено 5 , декабря
- ^ Легаспи, Амита (9 марта 2012 г.). «PHL, чтобы отправить нового посла в раздираемую в Сирию» . GMA News и общественные дела . Получено 5 декабря 2022 года .
- ^ SY, Марвин (31 мая 2012 г.). «САЛН СТАЛЛЫ Подтверждение посланника» . Филиппинская звезда . Получено 5 декабря 2022 года .
- ^ "Плейс в мире с покинув Дворец" . ABS-CBN News и текущие дела . 23 июня 2016 года . Получено 5 декабря 2022 года .
- ^ Тулфо, Рамон Т. (29 июня 2021 г.). «Неплотные дипломаты» . Филиппинская звезда . Получено 5 декабря 2022 года .
- ^ «Damascus pe chargé d'offaires получает теплый прием от филиппинского сообщества в Сирии» (пресс -релиз). Посольство Филиппин, Дамаск. 5 февраля 2023 года . Получено 27 марта 2023 года .
