The Philippine Consulate General in Milan, Italy has belied reports that it has not given any support to Filipino activities in the area, particularly in the recent 7th Homeless World Cup in Milan, which was joined by the Philippine football team.

Philippine Consul General in Milan Antonio Morales was reacting to a report that the Philippine post “snubbed” the Philippine football team during the 7th Homeless World Cup in Italy from Sept. 6 to 13, saying that the Post is “saddened by the misleading and false statements” that came out in news reports.

According to the reports, the Post did not give any support to the Philippine team, and that the team got “cold-shouldered treatment.”

Morales, in a letter to the Manila Bulletin, belied the report, saying that the statements are “without basis.” Morales said the consulate had organized a text brigade to about 100 community leaders upon learning of the Philippines’ participation in the said event.

The Filipino community in Milan then showed its support to the Philippine football team by bringing them food in their quarters and attending their games.

“Having promoted the event, the consulate could not be faulted for the inability of the members of the Filipino community to watch the games considering that these were held during working days,” Morales explained.

He added, “these games were held in September when many Filipinos were still on vacation or were still with their employers on vacation.

It may also be noted that although Italians and Europeans have a passion for football, not many Filipinos in Milan are football enthusiasts.”

He also said the event had coincided with other consular activities.

“Undermanned as it is, the consulate had difficulty distributing 15 personnel, including three officers and 12 staff, to four simultaneous events in different locations. The consulate was able to send representatives to all these events but given the heavier than usual consular workload and the lean staff, Post could not send a big delegation to the games without disrupting its consular services,” he explained.

He said the Philippine post regrets not being able to send the whole Consulate personnel during the closing ceremonies of the Homeless World Cup. He however said the consulate was represented in the event by Vice Consul Gerry Abiog.

“It is hoped that this will serve to clarify the matter of the consulate’s support to the Philippine team, in the interest of fairness,” Morales said.