Her Majesty’s Consul Brendan Gill swims and does yoga in his spare time. He said it helped him with his back problems while, at the same time, giving him mental resilience.
Gill, together with his eight-man team, needs to always be mentally and physically prepared. They are the 24/7 unit of the British Embassy, as they continuously look after the welfare of all British nationals who are in the country.
It is a job that requires Gill to be continuously moving from one region in the Philippines to another, as they provide support to their countrymen.
“We are a one-stop shop for the issues they are facing. We are dealing with people on the low point of their lives. They are scared, angry, confused and difficult to deal with,” Gill said.
He said the difficult nature of their work have them seeing people go through tough times, and they never know when they will be called to assist.
Gill added that having dedicated team members, who know what needs to be done, is a very big advantage.
To them, the biggest incentive is hearing again from people they have assisted
“We save people’s lives. They tell us when they have recovered. Their feedback is what keeps us going,” he said.
The scope of their work
Gill said their work is mostly outside the embassy grounds and takes them to various places in the country. Lately, he has been to Iloilo, Ilocos region, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu and Davao.
“The Philippines is one of the countries in the world that most likely need consular assistance, because of the demographic of the people. A lot of them are older and need more assistance,” Gill said.
He added, “We help them with their marriage requirements, provide emergency passport, assist those who are injured, hospitalized, arrested and those affected by crisis.”
Gill added that they function as a safety net, as they give people a hand; but he clarified that they do not give handouts.
Gill said there are currently 17,000 British nationals living in various places in the Philippines, while more than 150,000 tourists visit the country annually.
He said a large number of British nationals in the country are within the National Capital Region, but there are also a lot of them who are living in the Visayas region, because of their fondness for the island lifestyle.
According to Gill, 55 British wardens from across the country assist them in the work that they do.
“They are our eyes and ears on the ground,” he said, while adding that they still countercheck with the local government the information that are passed on to them.
A British warden acts as a link between the embassy and its nationals. He provides information on passport renewals and visa. He assists those with health problems, affected by crisis from civil disturbance to natural calamities.
Gill said it was during Supertyphoon Yolanda when they had experienced some of the toughest times on the job.
“It was an area where a lot of Brits live. We had 400 phone calls from concerned family members and friends,” Gill said.
He added that before the supertyphoon hit the country, they were telling British nationals to prepare themselves and advised them to get in touch with the embassy.
There were rapid deployment teams, consular specialists and foreign-affairs officials looking for affected British nationals.
After the typhoon, Gill said they assisted their countrymen who were affected to return to the United Kingdom, rebuild their lives and get in touch with family and friends.
He said they have sent some back to their country, but with most choosing to continue to live their lives here.
Marriage and travel
British nationals and Filipinos tying the knot have been lately on the rise.
According to Gill, they have been receiving at seven to eight requests daily for certificates to get married to Filipinos.
“British meet Filipinos in the UK. They meet in the Middle East. Filipinos love to travel. There are 5 million British living overseas. At some point, their paths will cross,” Gill said.
He described those looking to get married as mostly male British nationals who are advanced in their ages, but said that some of those who are seeking marriage are also women.
Meanwhile, the lure of the Philippines as a tourist destination remains strong among his countrymen that even travel advisories they issue once in a while cannot discourage.
“They do not have to follow the travel advisories. The British are independent people. They are adventurous. But the majority take notice,” Gill said.
Gill added that travel advisories are only issued depending on what is happening in the country, and that it should be based on hard evidence.
He said that there are certain parts of the country, more specifically in Mindanao, which they advise against traveling.
Gill added that they are pleased that British nationals have never been involved in kidnap-for-ransom incidents.
The teacher
Before becoming a diplomat, Gill worked as a teacher after graduating from the University College London with a degree in history.
He taught English and math for middle-school students in state schools in South London, Spain and Eritrea.
“There is nothing more challenging than teaching 13- and 14-year-old students. It is a tougher audience. It was a good preparation for the work I do now,” Gill said.
His work with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has so far taken him to Ghana, Colombia, Jamaica, and now in the Philippines.
Since 1998, he has handled press, political, human rights, counterterrorism, visas and consular work for the embassy.
He said the curiosity about those countries and their history factored in his choice of destinations.
“I learned the privilege of working as a diplomat has helped me see things in a deeper way,” Gill said.
Gill added that he has gained so much appreciation on Jamaican and Columbian cultures, and has seen how Ghana’s democracy has evolved.
As for the Philippines, he saw a job opening and applied for it.
“There are several who were posted here that retired in the country. I was hearing good things. It is an English-speaking country and it was easy to adapt,” Gill said.
Gill, who is married to a Columbian, described the Philippines as a slice of Latin America in Asia.
He then noted the growing influence of British culture on the Filipinos lifestyle. He said there are now a growing presence of British brands in the country and the popularity of British actors and music among Filipinos.
Gill said one of the biggest assets of the country is its people, as he described the Filipinos as naturally welcoming and friendly.