Embassy of the Philippines, Helsinki
The Embassy of the Philippines in Helsinki was the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Republic of Finland. Opened in 2009, it was located on Keskuskatu in central Helsinki, across from the flagship Stockmann department store.

Closed in 2012 due to a reduction in the Philippines' diplomatic presence worldwide during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, the mission is scheduled to reopen in 2024.

History
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Finland were established on July 14, 1955, although a resident mission would not open until much later. Relations were initially conducted through the Philippine Embassy in London, with President Ramon Magsaysay appointing León María Guerrero III as non-resident ambassador to Finland. Jurisdiction over Finland would later pass between various missions in Europe, including the embassies in Bonn, Moscow, and Stockholm.

Deepening relations, especially economic ties, between the Philippines and Finland would lead to the opening of the Embassy on November 2, 2009, during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, alongside resident missions also opening that year in Ireland, Poland, and Portugal. It would take over responsibility for conducting relations with Finland from the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm ten days later, and consular services would later be offered starting on April 12, 2010, with the opening of the Embassy's consular section.

Expansion of the Philippines' diplomatic presence abroad during the Arroyo presidency was not without controversy: in 2010, Senator Franklin Drilon questioned the need for embassies in countries with small Filipino communities, including a number of countries in Europe, and called for a review of the Philippines' diplomatic presence worldwide. This would lead to the closure of ten posts under Arroyo's successor, Benigno Aquino III, and ultimately to the closure of the embassies in Finland and Sweden on October 31, 2012, with both countries being placed under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, and services in Finland provided through an honorary consulate in Helsinki. Finland was then later placed under the jurisdiction of the reopened Philippine Embassy in Stockholm on May 15, 2020, and a second honorary consulate, replacing the first one, opened in Espoo two months later on July 16, 2020.

On November 15, 2022, during budget deliberations for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Senator Loren Legarda announced that the Embassy was one of four missions that would reopen in 2024. Spurred in part by the reopening of the Finnish Embassy in Manila in 2020, this was reaffirmed by Vice President Sara Duterte in October 2023, and some time thereafter the DFA itself confirmed that it was undertaking final preparations for the reopening of a resident Philippine mission in Finland in 2024.

Staff and activities
The Philippine Embassy in Helsinki was headed by Ambassador Maria Angelina M. Sta. Catalina, the Philippines' first (and so far, only) resident ambassador to Finland. A career diplomat who was appointed to the position by President Arroyo, she previously served as Consul General at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels. Her appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on May 20, 2009, and she presented her credentials to Finnish President Tarja Halonen on November 12, 2009.

With the Embassy's impending reopening it is set to be headed by a new ambassador, Domingo P. Nolasco, who was appointed to the position by President Bongbong Marcos on June 25, 2024. Prior to becoming Ambassador, Nolasco, a career diplomat, served as the DFA's Assistant Secretary for Financial Management Services, and before that served at the Philippine Embassy in Rome as ambassador to Italy. His appointment was confirmed by the CA on August 7, 2024.

See also
List of diplomatic missions of the Philippines

References

External links
Official website of the Philippine Embassy in Helsinki ()

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