RP embassy in London acquires new home

The Philippine embassy in London has acquired a new home. Located at 6-8 Suffolk Street in Central London, the embassy premises has more space to accommodate the growing community and increasing interaction of Philippine-UK relations, according to Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo who led the building’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “May this edifice be the castle of our nation’s ideals, the vanguard of our values, and the home of our aspiration," Romulo said. The embassy’s new home was acquired through a 125-year lease. The Philippine mission to the United Kingdom occupied 9a Palace Green in Kensington for more than 50 years. When the 50-year lease on the old embassy location expired, the Department of Foreign Affairs approved the recommendation of Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu to scout for a bigger place to accommodate the growing number of Filipinos in Britain and the rapidly increasing number of transactions. The new chancery is housed in a block of buildings, with three storeys each, offering better facilities and more office space to include the offices of the Department of Labor, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Defense, the Social Security System, and, eventually, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Trade and Industry which are currently located outside of the embassy’s premises, the DFA said. The buildings that now house the Philippine embassy were constructed in 1663 by the 3rd Earl of Suffolk. The buildings were remodeled in 1820-1824 by the famous British architect John Nash as part of his Regent Street scheme. At present, 6-8 Suffolk Street are part of the Hobhouse Court, named after Sir John Cam Hobhouse (1756-1869), created Baron Broughton and former Member of Parliament for Westminster from 1820 to 1833. “The new embassy looks towards the future by providing better services to an ever-increasing number of Filipinos in the UK by modernizing its facilities not just in terms of rendering more efficient and speedy delivery of passport and other OFW-related services but also in terms of offering facilities for meetings and other related activities to the Filipino community in the UK," Espiritu said. “It is definitely more accessible to the public as it is in the heart of Westminster and is just a few steps away from Trafalgar Square, the West End, Piccadilly Circus and all the amenities, transport facilities and some popular tourist sites in the city," he added. “We have left Palace Green with a heavy heart as it has been our home for more than five decades. It has seen us through the good times and the bad as we faced a multitude of challenges in building and strengthening our diplomatic relations with the UK while discharging our duties to our countrymen," Espiritu said. “On the other hand, we look forward to a new life on Suffolk St. -- a new building to house our embassy that the Philippine government and the Filipino community can be proud of." At the inauguration ceremony, Romulo also announced the naming of the main function room in Building No. 6 where the consular section is housed, as the Rizal Room, in honor of the Philippine national hero who lived in Camden, London, while he was still a student in Europe. A bust of Rizal, courtesy of the Knights of Rizal, London Chapter, was unveiled at the ceremony. - GMANews.TV