The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv was opened in 1962, five years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel. Its opening coincided with the that of the Israeli Embassy in Manila that same year.[1]
In 2012, the Embassy's website was hacked by a hacker who identified himself as "RcP" amid increased tension between Israeli troops and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.[2]
DFA Undersecretary Ernesto Abella again denied in August 2018 that the Philippine government was considering moving the embassy to Jerusalem when he mentioned that it was not a part of President Rodrigo Duterte's agenda for his then-upcoming state visit to Israel.[5]
Staff and activities
The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv is headed by Ambassador Pedro R. Laylo Jr., who was appointed by President Bongbong Marcos on July 18, 2022.[6] Prior to becoming Ambassador, Laylo, a pollster, founded the polling firm Laylo Research Strategies, regarded for the quality of its opinion polls,[7] and previously sat on the board of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.[6] His appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on September 28, 2022,[8] and he presented his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on January 11, 2023.[9]
The Embassy's activities center around providing to the welfare of Filipinos in Israel, many of whom are Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Following the death of a Filipino worker from a bomb explosion in Haifa in 2001, the Embassy organized text brigades to quickly disseminate information to Filipinos throughout the country,[10] while in 2005, Ambassador Antonio Modena protested the treatment of Filipinos entering or exiting Israel, many of whom were subjected to excess security screening or were segregated from other departing or arriving foreigners.[11]
In addition to catering to the welfare of Filipinos in Israel, the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv also provides assistance to nationals of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which do not have a diplomatic presence in Israel, such as with the case of 12 Malaysians detained by Israeli authorities following the Gaza flotilla raid in 2010.[12]
1 Embassy which is located at Jerusalem. / 2 Embassy or Apostolic Nunciature which is located at Tel Aviv. / 3 No diplomatic relations with Taiwan, functions as an informal diplomatic mission.
1 The Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei is the representative office of the Philippines in Taiwan, which functions as an informal diplomatic mission.