The Philippine Embassy outreach team providing passport and overseas voting registration services to community  members in Gaziantep as Ambassador Maria Elena P. Algabre looks on. (Embassy Photo)

GAZIANTEP 14 October 2021 —The Filipino community in Gaziantep, Turkey,  was pleasantly surprised with the first time ever consular outreach and overseas voting registration mission by the Philippine Embassy on 13 October 2021.  This reflects the Embassy’s “steadfast commitment to bring its services closer to Filipinos across over Turkey and to promote and protect their interests including the delivery of timely and efficient consular and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) services no matter the distance,” said Ambassador Maria Elena P. Algabre who led the Embassy mission team.    

The Embassy outreach team and the Filipino community in Gaziantep. (Embassy Photo)

Ambassador Algabre and the Embassy team met with nearly all of the community members, most of whom are women. She mentioned how the mission to Gaziantep, located 700 kilometers away from Ankara, was especially timely in providing an opportunity for the community members to register in time for the 2022 Philippine national elections. The Filipinos  reported that they were a tight-knit community, mostly women and in regular contact with  each other.  They added that they were all in good situation and all had secured COVID-19 vaccinations through the assistance of their employers. The Ambassador  encouraged community members to partner with the Embassy through an open line of communication to help address the needs of Filipinos in Gaziantep and promote the best in being Filipino. ##