Filipinos populating Milan, as 3 are born there daily--exec

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:06:00 04/29/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipinos appear to be populating the design and fashion in the city of Milan, with the Philippine consulate general there registering an average of 1,000 Filipino births a year or an average of three a day, an official told INQUIRER.net.

Pedro Chan, consul general in the Italian city, said that his office also solemnized an average of four to six marriages a week, with some of the young women already in the family way.

“Some Italians view this phenomenon as a blessing to their country, which has a declining -- if not zero -- birth rate, arguing that if Italian couples no longer want to bring forth babies, then Pinoys [Filipinos] are happily doing their work for them,” Chan said in an exchange of e-mails with INQUIRER.net.

Chan said the increasing marriage and birth registrations among the Filipino population in Milan have prompted the consulate general to hold pre-marriage counseling seminars, which started early April.

“The seminar is the consulate’s response to the Filipino youth’s growing need for guidance on family relations, as well as for legal advice. It also aims to orient parties wishing to contract marriage of their rights and obligations,” a statement from the consulate said.

“Napakaraming mga kabataan ang nagpapakasal sa konsulado. Pero alam ba nila ang kanilang pinapasok? Hindi sapat na nagmamahalan lang sila o magiging mga magulang na sila. Kailangang maintindihan nila ang lahat ng responsibilidad na kasama sa pagpapakasal [So many young people are getting married at the consulate. But do they know what they’re getting into? It is not enough that they love each other or that they will become parents. They need to understand all the responsibilities that come with marriage]. We wish to strengthen migrant Filipino families through seminars like this,” Chan said.

At the seminar last April 6, lawyer Cheryl Vitales-Labo, legal officer of the consulate, briefed 10 Filipino couples who attended the two-hour seminar on a wide range of topics including the legal definition of marriage, the requisites of marriage, the obligations of spouses, the effect of marriage on properties, and the dissolution of marriage.

Vice Consul Mary Luck Hicarte reminded the couples, especially those expecting to have babies soon, to strike a balance between their work and family lives.

“Dito sa Italya, hindi kinukulang sa materyal na mga bagay ang mga anak ng ating mga kababayan. Ang kulang sa mga batang ito ay panahon kasama ng kanilang mga magulang [Here in Italy, the children of our countrymen do not lack for material things. What is lacking is time with their parents],” she said.

The consulate said the pre-marriage counseling seminar would be conducted for free every first Friday of the month. It is open to all Filipino citizens who wish to contract marriage, but is a requirement for the issuance of marriage license for those below 25 years old, in line with Article 16 of the Family Code of the Philippines.

The government statistics said that as of December 2006, there were 128,080 Filipinos in Italy. Of this number, 23,108 are permanent residents, 84,972 are in Italy temporarily, and 20,000 are irregular.

Milan’s population, on the other hand, is about 1.3 million, according to this website.