The Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines, Mr Jose Manuel Gallego del Romualdez, presented his Credentials to Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen this morning in the first virtual ceremony at King’s House.
The physical handover of the Credentials was done by Mr Nicholas Haughton, Acting Director of Protocol in Jamaica’s Foreign Ministry. Ambassador Gallego del Romualdez is also his country’s resident Ambassador to the United States of America, from where he beaming live into King’s House.
The Governor-General and the new Ambassador exchanged courtesies on behalf of their countries. Sir Patrick congratulated the Representative on his new appointment and asked that he convey his best wishes to his President.
The Ambassador in turn shared his gratitude on being accredited to Jamaica and stated that he is still looking forward to visiting Jamaica this year or soon thereafter.
Sir Patrick expressed appreciation for the diplomatic relations between Jamaica and the Republic of The Philippines for over 40 years and commented on the felicitous nature of the annual Diplomatic Week usually held at King’s House for resident and non-resident Representatives.
In response to The Governor-General’s concern over the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the Ambassador said that his country was experiencing its second ‘lock-down’ and that he was maximizing on the opportunity of being in Washington DC to seek support in procuring vaccines from the United States of America.
The Governor-General also expressed the hope that the Ambassador’s diplomatic appointment would facilitate closer multilateral and bilateral links and said he looked forward to welcoming him in Jamaica.