President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. extended good wishes to Italian Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Marco Clemente during his farewell call at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday.

In his message to the Italian ambassador, President Marcos said the Philippines always feels sad every time diplomats end their tenure in the country as they are considered allies of the government.

“Every time we lose a friend, all ambassadors after a while, we always feel we have made a friendship with [them] and every time we lose that friendship to somewhere else, so, it’s a little sad, but we are happy for the time that you were able to spend here,” President Marcos said.

“Especially considering how important Italy is to the Philippines, considering that one of the first European countries who were really – there was a large immigrant population from the Philippines, working population, OFWs, was Italy,” he added.

For his part, Ambassador Clemente expressed his gratitude to President Marcos, the Philippine government and the Filipino people for their warm welcome during his fruitful three-year stay in the country.

Ambassador Clemente said he left an indelible mark in the Philippines as he chose to retire in the country, which is unusual for some diplomats.

“But, I did something which for me was a sign of love for this country. I did something, which is very unusual for my colleagues, I decided to end a career here. Normally, people go back to the ministry to stay there for some months,” he added.

Clemente arrived in Manila on August 28, 2021 to assume his post as Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the Philippines. His tenure came at an auspicious moment during the 75th anniversary celebration of the establishment of Philippine-Italy diplomatic relations in 2022. PND