New RP consulate general opens in Frankfurt

MANILA, Philippines — The newly established Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt in Germany is now offering consular services, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. An article on the DFA website (www.dfa.gov.ph) said the consulate general will have its temporary premises on Friedrichstrasse 10-12. “The opening of the new Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main is expected to facilitate the delivery of services to overseas Filipinos living in the German federal states of Hesse, North Rhine Westphalia, Tnuringia, Baden-Wurttemberg, Rhineland Palatinate and Saarland. Other German federal states are being serviced by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin and the Consulate General in Hamburg," it said. It said the new consulate general replaces the Philippine Embassy’s extension office in Bonn that was closed late last year due to the DFA’s rationalization program. Consul General Romeo Manalo, a career diplomat who heads the newly established post, met with leaders of Filipino community organizations in the runup to the opening. Manalo discussed cooperative endeavors and assured them of the Philippine government’s commitment to the welfare of Filipinos overseas. In turn, the DFA said, Filipino community expressed their satisfaction over Manila’s decision to establish a consulate general in Frankfurt, which has the added distinction of being Germany’s commercial and financial hub. “The sentiments of Filipino community leaders were echoed by Philippine exhibitors who recently participated in two trade fairs in Frankfurt," it added. The Philippines and Germany formalized relations in April 1955 and opened their respective Embassies in each other’s capital the year thereafter. After the reunification of Germany, the Philippine Embassy transferred to Berlin from Bonn, the capital of the former West Germany. - GMANews.TV