Italian Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Marco Clemente | The Manila Times Roundtable
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:09 Welcome, sir, in the morning.
00:11 My pleasure.
00:11 Thank you for having me.
00:13 This year, as I understand it, is the 75 years
00:15 of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Italy,
00:19 a very long relationship.
00:21 Maybe you can begin with, or maybe we
00:23 can begin our discussion with, so
00:25 how are the relationship between our two countries
00:28 75 years after we started?
00:30 We celebrated the 75th anniversary two years ago.
00:34 But I'm here to present one of the effects
00:39 of our celebration of that momentous anniversary, which
00:44 is this book that we edited, which is--
00:49 I brought a copy.
00:50 And I started to think about this book when I arrived.
00:56 So on the eve of the 75th anniversary.
01:01 But I think that even if the anniversary now is past,
01:06 but a book, which is a concrete object that you can keep
01:11 reading and keep looking at, keep
01:14 keeping in your coffee table, it's
01:20 a nice way to remember.
01:24 75 years is a long time.
01:29 But I think from my humble perspective
01:34 that I cannot think, outside the European Union,
01:40 perhaps, of a bilateral relationship which
01:44 has always been so good for all this time.
01:49 There are many reasons.
01:51 Of course, it's rather banal to remind how many things
01:57 we have in common.
01:58 Sure.
01:59 And so I'm not--
01:59 I think we're very similar.
02:00 Very similar.
02:02 So I'm not surprised at all.
02:04 But still, it's a fact that in these 75 years and more,
02:10 because now we are entering the 77th, 2024,
02:18 we haven't had one reason to--
02:21 I wouldn't say fight, of course, but not even argue,
02:24 not even have--
02:25 the relations have always been very, very good.
02:29 Many reasons.
02:30 We all know that.
02:31 Let me emphasize what I think is one of the most important,
02:36 the presence of almost 200,000 Filipinos in my country.
02:40 Our migrant workers, yes.
02:43 They are really part of our family now.
02:46 They are the community, the foreign community, probably
02:54 one of the best integrated foreign communities
02:57 we have in Italy.
02:59 Thank you.
03:00 For many reasons.
03:03 Of course, the--
03:04 The culture.
03:04 --commonality of our culture helps.
03:08 And also the way you integrate with the generosity,
03:15 but also with the sense of belonging
03:18 that sometimes you don't find in other communities.
03:22 So I think all people I know have had in their life--
03:29 in Italy, my compatriots have had in their life
03:32 a Filipino or a Filipina living in their household,
03:36 taking care of their elder, taking care of their children.
03:39 I was-- I am one of them, because my now 16-year-old,
03:44 when he was younger, had a Filipina nanny from Mindoro.
03:49 Oh, wow.
03:50 At that time, I had no clue about where Mindoro was.
03:53 Of course, now I know very well.
03:56 And she still remembers.
03:59 Unfortunately, we lost track of her.
04:01 But my son still remembers her with fondness and nostalgia,
04:07 even.
04:07 The way she was living with us, actually.
04:10 At that time, we had the need of having someone living with us
04:17 all the time, because my son was too little, very little.
04:22 Anyway, so the main reason for this excellent bilateral
04:25 relationship, I think, lies especially
04:28 to this important human factor.
04:31 But also, as you said, common values.
04:35 You've always been part of the West
04:38 in your political standings.
04:43 Also religion, also.
04:45 Yes, but it's no coincidence that on several important--
04:53 Issues, yeah.
04:53 Issues, international politics issues,
04:56 you've always taken the stance of the European Union.
05:01 And from my point of view, I know, I noticed that.
05:06 And I've always emphasized this to my capital.
05:09 Not that they needed to know from me.
05:12 But I, of course, as ambassador to Manila,
05:15 I wanted to reiterate that you are by our side
05:20 all the time in all major topics.
05:24 And this is something which also depends on this commonality
05:29 I mentioned before.
05:31 So 75, almost 77 now years of this friendship,
05:38 never show one reason for not being so friendly.
05:43 And this is not usual.
05:44 This is not usual.
05:45 There is always something that you
05:49 make reservation about in a bilateral relationship
05:52 with a country.
05:53 In our cases, fortunately, never happened.
05:57 And I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to end my career,
06:02 to end my foreign service career in this country.
06:06 I cannot think of a better way to wrap it up.
06:11 Yes, to wrap it up.
06:12 I needed-- I was interested in serving
06:15 in this part of the world.
06:17 But the Philippines is the best door to Asia for a Westerners,
06:25 for a European.
06:27 Thank you for that.
06:28 The relationship may go much further back.
06:30 I was talking to the executive director of the Italian
06:32 chamber, who was telling me that he was quite surprised
06:38 to notice when he visited a restaurant, a small restaurant
06:41 in Bicol region.
06:43 And the dish was very much in the style of what
06:46 you would see in Palermo.
06:48 And apparently, he did some digging.
06:50 And when the Spaniards came here,
06:53 apparently there were many Italians who came along,
06:55 I think friars and other people.
06:57 Of course, the Filipinos, they all look Spaniards, right?
07:00 But apparently, the Franciscans, I mean,
07:04 there were a lot of Italians even early on
07:08 during the colonial period.
07:11 No, no.
07:12 Of course, I didn't have these details.
07:13 But I'm not surprised.
07:15 I didn't know either.
07:16 I was surprised.
07:17 Well, actually, one of the first who came with the Spaniards
07:21 and who wrote about Magellan--
07:22 Pepe Plata.
07:23 And this unfortunate death, unfortunate for him.
07:30 Unfortunate for him, yeah.
07:32 Was an Italian, Pepe Plata.
07:34 And by the way, one of the interesting features
07:37 of this book, which I want to emphasize
07:42 is also available online, now in our website,
07:47 is the Diary of Pepe Plata.
07:50 We bought the copyright of the English translation
07:54 from a university, I think it was in Canada,
08:02 who owned the rights.
08:04 So we bought the right because we wanted to print it.
08:08 So I understand this is the first time
08:10 that a book edited and published in the Philippines
08:14 contains this important piece of literature.
08:18 Congratulations.
08:19 So it's also our contribution to the cultural life
08:24 of the Philippines.
08:25 Because who wants to read about what Pepe Plata wrote
08:30 on Magellan's travels?
08:35 You can find it.
08:36 It's so interesting that he wrote a lot
08:38 about the Filipino customs and the food.
08:43 The food, yeah.
08:44 Adobo, yeah.
08:45 It's very interesting.
08:46 He was very detailed on that.
08:48 And strangely enough, he writes two lines on Magellan's death.
08:56 He didn't write much.
08:57 Really?
08:57 Maybe it was traumatic.
08:58 Yeah, traumatic.
08:59 Or maybe he didn't want to give too much importance to the fact
09:04 that the Europeans were actually defeated by a local--
09:09 An Indonesia force.
09:11 So I don't know.
09:11 That's very surprising.
09:13 Out of, I don't know, 100 pages, you
09:16 would expect that that momentous episode of--
09:20 Would merit more than two lines.
09:22 Well, two lines.
09:24 Number, two lines.
09:26 Interesting.
09:26 So this you can find also in the third part.
09:28 Thank you.
09:29 It will be very much interesting to look at.
09:31 But you know, Ambassador, as I was telling you
09:32 before we started, the reason why
09:34 I was so interested to talk to you is because, well, one,
09:37 you love books.
09:38 And as I was telling you earlier,
09:41 we're keenly watching-- or at least I am keenly watching
09:43 Italy because Italy will be the guest of honor
09:47 at the Frankfurt Book Fair next year.
09:49 And the Philippines will be following a year after that.
09:53 And in this day and age-- and I heard you speak about this--
09:58 where most people are going to social media for information
10:02 and for content, that you were making a reminder
10:04 that books are very important.
10:06 Could you maybe talk about that?
10:09 Yes.
10:10 You were saying that we are what we read or something like that.
10:12 Yes.
10:13 I am, actually.
10:15 I am what I read.
10:18 One of the reasons why I think that this initiative
10:23 that the embassy took by initiating this volume project
10:32 is also to create something concrete
10:38 to remember our 75-year-old friendship
10:44 with a concrete object called book, which
10:48 is something which some people--
10:52 I hate to say maybe most of the people,
10:55 especially in our young generation--
10:58 don't know much about.
11:00 Unfortunately, the problem in this TikTok era
11:05 is that our kids don't read much anymore.
11:09 And this book is our humble contribution
11:13 to remind the public opinion, through the valuable help
11:18 of your newspaper, to remind them that reading is important.
11:24 Reading is a fundamental aspect of our life.
11:30 Because, of course, watching a YouTube clip or an Instagram
11:35 story is interesting, is even informative.
11:41 But reading a book is much better.
11:44 Also because it teaches us the value of patience and time
11:52 and reflection, something that, unfortunately,
11:57 our very, very quick times of social
12:06 doesn't give us as much as it should.
12:09 In other words, a book, you need some time to read a book.
12:16 You can take it back, read it again,
12:19 something you don't do with a YouTube clip, I don't think.
12:25 Maybe they watch it more than once.
12:28 They don't reflect more than once of what they watch.
12:32 So a book is a way to become a better person, better people.
12:37 I don't want to sound too rhetoric in this,
12:42 but I do believe that reading is an important aspect
12:47 of our life.
12:49 If with this book, we give our humble contribution
12:53 to this, to what could even become
12:57 a debate on the importance of reading, I would be very happy.
13:03 Books-- and I'm so happy about the information you gave to me
13:10 that next year we will be in Frankfurt.
13:13 Our publishing industry is very, very healthy, I'd say.
13:19 So I really hope that also the same happens here,
13:23 that there will be more and more writers, more and more readers.
13:27 By the way, this book is also a beautiful product
13:31 from an aesthetic point of view.
13:32 So it's kudos to your publishing industry also,
13:36 because this book was made by a Filipino designer
13:40 at the Filipino publishing house.
13:43 So it's also an evidence of the ingenuity
13:47 and the artistry of your people.
13:49 And so I'm very proud to have given them the opportunity
13:53 to show this ingenuity through this book.
13:57 I'm sorry for looking so distracted, but I am very--
13:59 No, no, no, don't worry.
14:00 Don't worry.
14:01 It took two years to make it, so it cannot take two minutes
14:04 to read it, obviously.
14:06 But another thing that is interesting about this book
14:09 is the iconography.
14:12 We managed to find a lot of beautiful pictures,
14:15 also of the past, thanks to the archive
14:18 of the Department of Foreign Affairs,
14:21 also our archive in Rome.
14:22 We found interesting pictures of all the meetings
14:26 of our political leaders at the beginning
14:29 of our diplomatic relationship.
14:31 So also it's visually very, I hope, interesting
14:36 and pleasurable to read, I hope.
14:40 And we are very proud of it.
14:42 I look forward to going over.
14:43 Thank you.
14:44 Ambassador, if I may ask you, another aspect
14:48 of our bilateral relations is, of course,
14:51 trade and investments.
14:52 I was wondering if you can talk about that,
14:54 because my impression is that there
14:55 seems to be a lot more Italian companies looking this way.
14:58 I mean, what are they looking for?
15:01 What sectors do you think would be
15:04 good for Philippine-Italian cooperation, maybe investments?
15:10 Maybe not just Italians coming here, but also Filipinos
15:12 going to Italy.
15:14 I agree with you.
15:15 I always sense this increased interest.
15:21 Of course, we have to take into consideration
15:25 that when I arrived, as you rightly mentioned before,
15:30 it was the beginning of the end of the pandemic.
15:34 So of course, after that, it was to be expected
15:41 a rebound of interest.
15:42 But I see something more structural and more stable
15:50 than just a rebouncing from the COVID time.
15:55 And this definitely depends on the stability
16:01 of the social, economic, and political situation
16:05 in this country.
16:08 You have elections last year, which gave the country
16:13 a stable government, enjoying the overwhelming support
16:19 of the electorate.
16:23 And this is a message that for investors is very important.
16:29 Stability is something that businessmen always look for.
16:34 Of course, there is the usual mantra
16:38 of the commonality of our values,
16:40 because in a country where it's the only Catholic country
16:44 in the region, we share our values.
16:49 Also in business, I'm not a businessman,
16:52 but of course, I know that in business,
16:54 you also have to have values, the respect.
16:59 So I think that dealing and doing business
17:02 in this country, in the context I referred to before,
17:08 it's easier because of that common values.
17:13 Also, another thing that maybe you give it for granted
17:17 because you live in this ambience,
17:20 but this is something that sometimes you
17:24 tend not to forget, but not to give much importance to,
17:27 the fact that English is your second language.
17:32 So it's the official language of this country.
17:35 So you can imagine for a businessman
17:38 to penetrate this market without any linguistic difficulties.
17:42 On the contrary, the problem is that Italians
17:44 don't speak as much English as they should.
17:47 Maybe--
17:48 Are all Ws.
17:50 I'm joking, of course.
17:51 But of course, to come and not having any problem at all,
17:55 it's a boost for the interest of a business.
18:04 And also because you are creating
18:09 an environment which is more and more business
18:12 friendly for this country.
18:14 You are opening the possibility for investment more and more.
18:19 And so definitely, I'm very optimistic.
18:23 I won't be here to see probably the results,
18:27 but since I will be reading about this country,
18:31 about the Philippines, for the rest of my life,
18:33 I'll definitely--
18:35 and I hope to come back in different capacity
18:40 as soon as possible.
18:42 I'm sure that very soon we will see a really quantum leap
18:47 in our bilateral economic relationship.
18:50 So it would be an excellent way to--
18:54 how can I put it--
18:56 to paint the full picture.
19:01 We have excellent political relationship,
19:03 excellent cultural relationship.
19:05 We have to do a little more to complete the picture
19:09 with an important facet of our relationship, which
19:14 is the economic and trade relationship.
19:17 So definitely, the perspectives are very, very good.
19:21 I'm very happy that when you speak
19:23 to representative of the Italian business,
19:26 you get the same impression.
19:30 Of course, the embassy is working hard
19:32 to make this easier and easier, negotiating also
19:40 the text that can become sort of the juridical framework
19:46 for that.
19:46 So I think that the future is bright, visually bright.
19:54 What would you say Italy is very good at?
19:56 Because when people think about Italy,
19:58 they think about Lamborghini.
19:59 Yes, yes.
19:59 They think about Vespa.
20:01 But there are many things that I'm hearing.
20:03 I mean, green energy, I think, is something.
20:07 Infrastructure, manufacturing.
20:08 And of course, the creative industries.
20:10 I mean, you mentioned culture and the arts.
20:14 I mean, in terms of monetizing or developing
20:18 the creative industries through culture and arts,
20:21 you're certainly the first in mind when it comes to that.
20:24 Oh, thank you for saying that.
20:26 Of course, Italy has an added value,
20:29 being the country so famous for design and fashion,
20:37 which is the modern, contemporary incarnation
20:43 of our secular tradition of being creative.
20:49 Rinascimento is an invention of Italians several centuries.
21:00 And then the Pope, also.
21:03 At that time, Italy was not united,
21:06 so they were different states.
21:08 But each of them--
21:10 and if you read Italian history in those times,
21:13 it's really a characteristic which you find everywhere
21:20 and every time.
21:21 They wanted to illustrate their power through art,
21:27 as if they felt they were not militarily powerful that much.
21:35 Because don't forget that in the 16th century,
21:40 France was already a united country.
21:43 I'm not very familiar with the Spanish history,
21:46 but definitely they were also a superpower of the time.
21:50 And Portuguese, and even the Dutch.
21:53 Italy was a peninsula divided into different states
21:58 and not very powerful.
22:01 Financially, some of them very powerful.
22:04 Florence, especially Florence.
22:07 Florence was the Dubai of the times,
22:11 the center of financial power.
22:14 And all the main bankers were based in Florence.
22:20 That's why, for instance, all the words
22:24 which deal with the banking system activity,
22:31 they are all Italian.
22:32 Banca, rotta, banca.
22:35 Bank is an Italian word.
22:38 This is a banco.
22:39 This is where they put the money.
22:41 They counted the money.
22:43 Lettera di cambio, cambiali.
22:46 It's an Italian word.
22:48 So these countries, these little republics or kingdoms,
22:54 they were very powerful financially, but not
22:57 militarily, not politically.
22:59 So they found a sort of a counterbalance
23:02 of that lack of power also in art.
23:06 So they said, and thankfully they did,
23:10 they said, well, I'm not a superpower,
23:12 but I can become--
23:15 I can have influence.
23:16 I can become important.
23:17 I can get all the attention and all the prestige
23:21 that I need through helping the artists.
23:26 And this is how the Renaissance started.
23:29 So why I said that?
23:30 I said that because Italy has this incredible history
23:34 of being a series of states.
23:40 But geographically, Italy has always been there.
23:43 And also, we were a linguistic entity,
23:47 because more or less, those little states in those years,
23:53 they all spoke the same language with different dialects.
23:57 But they could understand each other.
23:59 So culturally, the unity of Italy
24:02 had already been established since the times
24:06 of your homonymous Dante 700 years ago.
24:10 Dante Alighieri was the creator of the Italian language,
24:14 basically.
24:15 So I think it's very obvious, it's
24:21 expectable that this tradition of being a country
24:27 and a culture, or a nation, better said,
24:30 being a nation which base also its own raison d'etre on art,
24:40 has influenced also the more contemporary, let's say,
24:46 expression of our industriousness.
24:53 And so you ask what Italy is.
24:57 Well, design, fashion, they are contemporary expression
25:02 of what was the patronage of art in 500 years ago.
25:08 But Italy is much more than that, of course.
25:13 Since we are too well known for being
25:18 the home of the best sports car, or the best designer,
25:23 my French colleague might resent that.
25:27 But as far as fashion, we compete with France.
25:33 But we have our role.
25:37 Sometimes, it overshadows the fact
25:39 that Italy is one of the seven most industrialized countries
25:43 in the world.
25:44 There has been a time when we were approaching the fourth
25:49 place some years ago.
25:51 But definitely, we are stably in the family,
25:55 in the group of the seven most industrialized countries.
25:59 And so we have the infrastructure sector,
26:07 railway, the railway engineering, shipping industry.
26:16 We are one of the most important producers
26:20 of ships in the world, touristic, but also military.
26:24 We have companies like Leonardo, which is a superpower in that.
26:35 So I don't think there is the need to remind your readers,
26:42 because they probably all know that.
26:45 But Italy is a country which has a lot to offer.
26:52 So the fields of cooperation I see definitely
26:56 infrastructure, defense industry cooperation, machineries,
27:04 tourism also is an important--
27:08 well, it's immaterial.
27:10 No, it's not immaterial, because of course,
27:13 industry means also touristic infrastructure.
27:17 Sorry, tourism means touristic infrastructure.
27:20 So they are also concrete.
27:21 But it's an overall concept of cooperation.
27:25 And I hope that if we finally reinstate the direct flight--
27:32 Yes, I do remember there were still Philippine Airlines
27:36 going to--
27:37 I was not there.
27:39 I didn't have reason to know.
27:42 But I am told by many people that we are missing that.
27:47 And I spoke with members of your government,
27:51 and they are optimistic that sooner or later--
27:56 and definitely, we will witness an incredible boost
28:01 in our also economic and trade relationship.
28:04 Because of course, one of the reasons why I suppose--
28:08 I don't have the evidence, but one of the reasons
28:11 why the Italian business in the past
28:14 has not been as interested as it should have been in this market
28:20 is because the distance is there.
28:23 You are the farthest.
28:25 Yeah, quite a shot.
28:27 Or one of the farthest.
28:28 If you had a direct flight, the distance
28:30 wouldn't count anymore.
28:32 Because when you get on board of a plane,
28:35 if it's 10 hours or 15 hours, what difference does it make?
28:39 When you have to stop over in Dubai, in Abu Dhabi,
28:43 in Singapore, and then stay there,
28:47 some business might say, look, you know what?
28:50 I'm already here.
28:52 I'll do my business here.
28:54 Why continue my trip?
28:57 Of course, there are many other reasons.
29:00 But let's say connectivity is--
29:04 Very important.
29:05 Connectivity is crucial.
29:07 It's crucial also to reduce costs
29:09 and also helping the logistics.
29:14 But I've collected, let's say, promising messages
29:21 from who has the power to decide.
29:24 So let's hope that we will have good news.
29:28 You mentioned the 200,000 Filipinos working in Italy.
29:32 I hear that number actually doubles
29:34 if you count the undocumented Filipinos who were there.
29:39 I wonder if you can talk about your visa policy.
29:42 Has that been a concern for Italy?
29:43 Has that made it harder for Filipinos going to Italy?
29:47 And then I think I remember--
29:48 I've been to Italy many times.
29:49 And the Italians who are undocumented there,
29:52 they always--
29:54 I think they're almost relying on Italy's benevolence
29:58 and giving an amnesty or something like that.
30:00 But I'm not sure what the mood, the political mood
30:03 for something like that is.
30:05 But maybe you can begin with the visa.
30:08 Yeah, they're two different topics.
30:10 Visa, I mean, it's very easy to answer.
30:14 I mean, we are part of the--
30:16 The Schengen agreement.
30:17 Yeah, of an agreement called Schengen.
30:19 So we follow the rule.
30:21 It's very easy to implement the Schengen agreement
30:25 because there you have a set of rules which
30:29 are known by the applicants.
30:31 And we always say to our Filipino friends,
30:34 just read the requirements, which are not particularly--
30:41 Difficult.
30:41 --difficult or tight.
30:44 And it will be easy.
30:46 I always remind my Filipino friends
30:50 that we are so happy to have you in our country
30:54 because you bring money.
30:56 That's very easy.
30:57 I mean, there is no reason for refusing a legitimate request.
31:03 I mean, it would be stupid.
31:05 I wouldn't say it would be stupid
31:07 because a businessman, a tourist, even a person who
31:11 wants to visit a friend, this opens another aspect.
31:16 Because of course, sometimes family reunion
31:19 are very difficult to allow because you
31:22 have to demonstrate your interest to return.
31:25 That's right.
31:26 This is the basic.
31:27 The basic of the visa policy, not only for Schengen,
31:32 for all countries, is if you want
31:35 to go and stay in Italy for a while
31:38 without risking to be considered a potential illegal,
31:44 you have to demonstrate your interest to return here.
31:48 If you don't have money here, if you don't have a property,
31:52 if you don't have a stable job--
31:54 Of course, that's what we do.
31:55 --how can you prove?
31:56 How can you prove?
31:58 But my aunt is very ill.
32:01 Yeah, we feel sorry.
32:03 But of course, even them, they understand.
32:07 They understand.
32:08 If you don't have a job, if you don't have anything which
32:12 calls you back here at the end of your vacation
32:15 or your business trip, then it's more difficult for Italy.
32:20 Because-- and I go back to the second part of your question--
32:25 definitely, definitely we live in a moment in our life,
32:29 in our, let's say, the history of our nation,
32:34 where the problem of immigration becomes more and more delicate.
32:39 Sure.
32:39 You know, of course, you are a very informed person.
32:42 You know what's happening in Europe.
32:45 Yes.
32:46 The pressure of immigration, most of them
32:52 rightly requested by people who are fleeing from war zones.
32:57 Right, right, right.
32:58 But some of them, they're fleeing
32:59 from economic difficulties, which
33:04 is more difficult to cope with.
33:06 Because one thing is that you apply because you
33:09 want to become a political--
33:12 you look for political asylum.
33:14 The other thing that you want to a better life
33:16 in other countries.
33:18 Filipinos and Italians are very close.
33:19 And I was wondering because of this general mood
33:22 about immigrants, right, that doesn't disturb that.
33:25 No, because you've been here already for a long time.
33:28 The Filipinos have been there for a long time.
33:30 They proved themselves to be part of the family.
33:36 Let me use this expression.
33:39 We don't consider you a foreign guest.
33:45 You're already part of the family.
33:46 But in a literal sense--
33:48 No, I see that, actually.
33:49 Because you are in our--
33:51 In your home.
33:52 Your Filipino compatriots are in our homes taking care of us.
33:59 Even on an equal footing.
34:01 I mean, they're part of it.
34:02 When you have someone who takes care of your ailing mother,
34:07 you don't consider her or him as a worker.
34:11 No, but I've seen myself, Ambassador.
34:13 The Italians who work with Filipinos
34:16 or have Filipino workers, they are truly, as you said,
34:19 like family.
34:20 Not like-- I've seen Filipino workers also
34:23 in other parts of the world.
34:24 But it's truly different in Italy.
34:27 It's remarkable.
34:28 And can I promote my country also?
34:30 Sure.
34:31 Because it's the way we treat people.
34:33 It's our common value.
34:35 We don't treat our helpers the way maybe other cultures do.
34:42 Because we don't do it.
34:43 I mean, we are very, very empathic people.
34:47 So when we have someone who helps us,
34:51 we want them to be part of our family.
34:54 So this is the secret of a splendid relationship
34:58 between our communities.
35:01 I will-- I can tell you.
35:02 I can promise you that when I'm back next year,
35:10 I will have, hopefully, a lot of free time
35:15 to devote to my interest.
35:20 And I will definitely try to get to know better
35:26 the Filipino community.
35:28 Thanks also to your Ambassador in Rome.
35:31 I will try to stay in touch with the Filipino people.
35:36 So would you say the Filipinos also
35:38 are somewhat good ambassadors of the Philippines in Italy?
35:42 Is that-- not to put words in your mouth.
35:46 No, no, no, no.
35:47 You can't put words in my mouth.
35:49 And I would be even more emphatic
35:53 if I didn't fear to get not respectful enough
36:00 to your Ambassador in Rome.
36:01 They would say, yes, they are the best, apart from him.
36:05 Of course, apart from the official.
36:08 Definitely, because, of course, when some, let's say,
36:13 foreign guest of our society doesn't behave well,
36:19 it's inevitable that this behavior, let's say,
36:23 put a negative light on the nation.
36:26 On their home country.
36:27 It's not fair.
36:28 I know, it's stupid.
36:30 But it's inevitable.
36:31 When you have a community like the Filipino, who
36:34 never create any problem, they're very loyal,
36:36 hard workers, and they integrate so well,
36:41 you don't even realize that you have a--
36:45 you know, every time something happens involving an immigrant,
36:50 of course, the media always underline the fact, OK,
36:55 he's got from--
36:56 because, of course, they want to titillate some negative also
37:02 feeling from the public opinion.
37:04 This is bad.
37:05 I don't like it at all.
37:06 But it's inevitable.
37:08 It's obvious that when something happens involving
37:12 a foreign community, bad, the public opinion
37:16 started to say, oh, you know, we should have more control on--
37:20 you never, never, never read one bad thing
37:24 about a single Filipino.
37:27 So that means that-- and you are a lot.
37:29 You are a lot.
37:30 Statistically, with all--
37:32 Officially and unofficially.
37:33 With all these people, I mean, you would be surprised.
37:37 But we are surprised, positively surprised.
37:40 Nothing happened.
37:41 You don't go on the newspapers about the Filipino.
37:46 This is very good.
37:48 Because usually you go on newspaper only for bad reasons.
37:51 Well, what's funny is that I've seen Filipinos pick up
37:53 the language where they work abroad.
37:55 But what's interesting in the Filipinos
37:57 I see, at least in Rome, where I've been to,
38:00 they pick up the Italian mannerisms.
38:03 That's interesting.
38:04 As I said before, now that I get back,
38:07 I will really try to study that aspect, to get to know them.
38:13 I'm sure that there is also an association of--
38:17 Oh, many.
38:18 Yeah, many, many.
38:19 --different levels.
38:20 So I--
38:20 Normally, I organize around people from the same hometown.
38:24 Yes, exactly.
38:25 So thanks to your embassy in Rome, I will try to--
38:30 starting with a visit to the Jollibee restaurant in Ronde,
38:34 which is the first Filipino experience I want to make.
38:39 So again, Ambassador, not to put words in your mouth,
38:41 just to maybe put a point.
38:43 So Filipinos are still welcome, very much welcome in Italy?
38:47 Very much, absolutely.
38:50 Like-- allow me to say, like all the legal work,
38:55 the people want to legally come and work
38:59 for the well-being of our nation, of our country.
39:04 After all, we need also workers in every single, let's say,
39:11 sector of our economic and social life.
39:14 And allow me also to say something that, of course,
39:17 we know how good you are in many aspects of, for instance,
39:22 nursing or engineering.
39:24 So what I hope that we will see more and more Filipinos also
39:30 in other sectors of our economic--
39:33 Maybe some Filipino opera singers.
39:35 Ah, well, you have good ones.
39:38 But on this, let me say that I rather hope that they stay
39:43 here and to, let's say, enhance the cultural life of this
39:50 country, because if you have all your best artists to leave
39:53 the country and perform overseas, what can you do here?
39:58 You won't have the--
39:59 No, but they go to Italy to study.
40:01 To study, but then on the proviso that they get back
40:05 and start.
40:06 I hope that also, since you open a subject,
40:12 I'm very sensitive about future of classical culture
40:16 in this country.
40:18 I hope also that we can support you in that.
40:24 Very humbly, very humbly, I personally,
40:28 being an opera passionate, I try to do that.
40:32 I hope to leave a legacy also on this,
40:35 because if we manage to create the public, more public
40:40 for that, the future of classical culture,
40:43 it's in good hands.
40:46 If we don't have opera performances--
40:50 I'm talking about opera, because of course,
40:53 classical music, foreign music, you
40:54 have a fantastic presence here.
40:58 Your PPO, the CCP, they're doing a wonderful job,
41:02 and all the other companies who are doing.
41:05 But opera really needs a little care,
41:08 like our elderly in Rome, in the hands of your Filipino people.
41:13 We would like to be your caretaker in nurturing opera,
41:18 which is such a delicate flower.
41:21 If you don't water them with care every day,
41:24 and once it dies away, it's very difficult to revive it,
41:31 because then you don't have the public.
41:35 And if you don't have a public, you
41:36 cannot do it, because you can produce
41:38 the most excellent production of the best opera.
41:42 But if you don't have people who buy tickets for that,
41:45 it's useless.
41:46 So I hope also in the future, also next year,
41:52 since my days, my months are numbered here,
41:55 I have big plans, because I want to end my term here
42:02 with some major event.
42:06 Next year is Puccini's centennial.
42:10 Oh, wow.
42:10 It's the 100th anniversary of his death.
42:13 And we must find a way.
42:15 And I hope also--
42:17 not I hope, I'm sure I can count on the support of the Manila
42:21 Times for giving, let's say, publicity and coverage on this.
42:29 I would like to do a beautiful event to celebrate also
42:33 Puccini.
42:35 It would be good for us, because it's our--
42:37 I think it would be good for us as well.
42:38 And good for you also, because if you create more and more
42:42 expectation for opera, again, my successes and your successes
42:52 and the cultural milieu of this country
42:56 will be more and more interested in opera.
42:59 So that would be a great thing.
43:03 So again, to get back to your very important question,
43:08 the situation is such that, of course, the public opinion
43:14 is not particularly empathic towards--
43:19 but fortunately, the Filipino community
43:22 is definitely not part of this picture.
43:25 But not because we are good, because you are good.
43:29 Because you deserve this excellent reputation.
43:35 It is the legacy of decades of hard work and good behavior
43:41 and wish to integrate, because this is the key.
43:45 If you have other community who don't integrate,
43:48 the relation will always be difficult.
43:51 Because it's obvious that people tend to say, you are here.
43:56 You are here in my home.
43:58 So you behave.
43:59 Of course, if the cultural differences are huge--
44:03 It's difficult, yeah.
44:04 Of course.
44:04 It's more difficult. And you cannot blame those communities
44:10 to have problems in integrating.
44:12 Fortunately, our differences are so small, even non-existent.
44:17 Because if you meet a Filipino and an Italian, I don't know.
44:24 Maybe the way we talk, maybe the way we--
44:26 No, it's like I say, even the mannerism.
44:28 Italians do something like this.
44:30 And I see Filipinos also do it.
44:31 Yeah, I know.
44:32 But here, for instance, I found myself sometimes--
44:36 I have to restrain myself.
44:38 Because of course, you have to adjust.
44:40 The tone of voice.
44:43 The tone of voice, which this tone, this very--
44:47 Moderate, yeah.
44:49 I mean, it could be interpreted as a sort of too imposing,
44:54 too even rude sometimes.
44:57 I said, but are you sure I was--
44:59 Sometimes someone said, but you were too grumpy.
45:02 I said, what do you mean by--
45:04 And then I realized, because I talk like that.
45:07 I'm very-- especially when I talk about things I believe in,
45:12 I'm very--
45:13 You're passionate about--
45:14 Passionate.
45:14 Exactly.
45:15 Passionate.
45:15 So sometimes this passion goes beyond the threshold
45:22 of the Asian habits.
45:26 So sometimes I now--
45:29 I realize that I try to be--
45:31 not today, but for instance, on official events.
45:37 Can I make a concrete example?
45:40 Also because Mr. was there.
45:43 The one who sent to see the rehearsal of Cavalleria
45:47 Pagliaccio.
45:48 Cavalleria Pagliaccio, the opera thing.
45:50 Remember?
45:50 Manfred?
45:52 Isn't he a guy?
45:54 I think he's a guy.
45:56 Anyway, there was someone from Manila Time to cover that.
46:00 And--
46:01 Arlo.
46:01 Arlo.
46:02 Arlo.
46:02 Custodio, yeah.
46:03 Custodio, Mr. Custodio.
46:05 And then we had this--
46:08 it was a rehearsal open to the students, something
46:12 I'm very passionate about.
46:14 And I was actually the one who gave this idea
46:18 to the producer of this opera.
46:20 I was just a sponsor.
46:22 We did not organize this opera production.
46:26 It was done by this company, private company,
46:29 called Lyric Opera.
46:31 Interesting people.
46:33 The main tenor is a businessman.
46:36 Of course.
46:37 I couldn't believe-- I mean, he sang the most difficult role
46:41 in the Italian repertoire.
46:43 And he is not a professional singer.
46:46 And he did it rather well.
46:48 Anyway, we had the previous night, the rehearsal,
46:52 to as many as 400 kids.
46:55 Beautiful.
46:56 Beautiful.
46:57 I love it to see young people to watch an Italian opera
47:01 or an opera, for that matter.
47:03 And so at the introduction, I was very passionate about it.
47:08 Very passionate.
47:10 I said to the kids, you have to.
47:13 This is great.
47:13 This is a method.
47:15 It's a method.
47:16 Because you have to sit down for three hours, still,
47:21 concentrated, focused.
47:23 This is something you don't have many opportunities
47:27 to do anymore.
47:29 So with this tone, sometimes even provocative,
47:33 even provocative, saying something.
47:35 Look, if you don't take care of these little flowers,
47:37 go over.
47:39 In two generation time, the CCP will become a parking lot
47:43 or a shopping mall.
47:44 Because there won't be anything to perform.
47:47 So these expressions now, in retrospective,
47:53 might sound a little bit too much for an Asian audience.
47:57 I don't know if you agree with me.
47:59 This is normal in our culture.
48:02 It's normal.
48:03 Even in America, you tend to be provocative to get
48:07 the attention of the audience.
48:09 And I even said to the media, media people,
48:14 you have a big responsibility.
48:15 Help us to promote the opera.
48:17 Blah, blah, blah.
48:20 As I said, in retrospect, I start
48:22 to think that this approach might be a little too much
48:26 for the Filipino audience.
48:29 Because some people said, not on that occasion,
48:33 but in general, they said, Ambassador,
48:35 sometimes you sound a little bit too grumpy.
48:39 Grumpy?
48:40 Why?
48:40 You're a little bit too bossy, too rude.
48:44 And they said, no, I'm not like that.
48:47 I swear to God, I'm not.
48:49 I'm really-- I'm not like that.
48:52 I don't recognize--
48:53 In fairness, Ambassador, I think a lot of Filipinos
48:55 know that you come from a different culture.
48:59 But I think we've been exposed enough, maybe because
49:03 of our OFWs as well, the difference between passion
49:07 and something different.
49:10 But we appreciate the passion.
49:12 But definitely, I will try to reclaim it.
49:14 Because one lesson that I learned here
49:17 is that you have to accept the culture.
49:20 And because it's different.
49:23 It's the same you're doing when you come to Italy.
49:26 The difference is that I live here,
49:28 and I want to really become part of the family, of your family,
49:32 also in my behavior.
49:34 Well, thank you very much, Ambassador, for your time.
49:36 But before-- is there anything else that maybe I
49:38 haven't asked that you want to talk about?
49:39 No, just I came here with this beautiful book.
49:42 One is for you, Blanca, of course.
49:44 Thank you for this.
49:46 No, really, it's--
49:48 I look forward to reading the big affetto.
49:50 I know that for every father, his kids is the best.
49:57 So I know that.
49:59 It's obvious that-- but really, if you could help us
50:04 to send a message, this has been a unique effort, which
50:08 cost us a lot of work.
50:13 And I did it with much pleasure and privilege.
50:17 It's important that the public opinion knows,
50:22 because it's something which is not so usual.
50:25 And if you can also promote the effort of the embassy,
50:30 I would be--
50:32 not because-- I mean, I think we deserve that.
50:37 Again, to get back to what we said
50:40 about the importance of reading.
50:42 It's a book.
50:43 It's about our bilateral relationship.
50:46 I think it's a beautiful product, also
50:49 from an aesthetic point of view.
50:50 And the last thing is the following.
50:53 These 80 people that you--
50:56 whose stories you will read in the second part,
51:00 they are 80 people, real people.
51:02 They have a beautiful story to tell.
51:07 By reading this book, you will know a moment of their life.
51:13 And my also ambition is that sooner or later,
51:21 someone might like even to meet one of them
51:24 and get into depth about that story.
51:30 You find one page there.
51:32 But behind that page, there are years of life of real people
51:38 about our friendship, our bilateral relationship.
51:41 I think this book gives the public the possibility
51:44 to know partially part of their stories.
51:50 And if the media, sooner or later, not now necessarily,
51:55 but in the future, might like to tell some of these stories,
52:00 I think it would be very, very interesting.
52:02 Well, thank you very much.
52:04 Thank you.
52:04 Thank you very much, Your Excellency.
52:05 Thank you so much.
52:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
52:09 it's a little bit of a challenge.
52:11 But I think it's a good book.
52:13 I think it's a good book.
52:15 I think it's a good book.
52:16 I think it's a good book.
52:17 I think it's a good book.
52:18 I think it's a good book.
52:19 I think it's a good book.
52:20 I think it's a good book.
52:21 I think it's a good book.
52:22 I think it's a good book.
52:23 I think it's a good book.
52:24 I think it's a good book.
52:25 I think it's a good book.
52:26 I think it's a good book.
52:27 I think it's a good book.