History was made on 29 March 2017 when British Prime Minister Theresa May submitted a letter, through British Ambassador Sir Tim Barrow to the European Union (EU) Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

This means May has given formal notice that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is leaving the EU after 44 years of membership.

The six-page letter sparks the process of negotiations on the terms of withdrawal which is expected to last for two years.

It was 9 months ago on 23 June 2016 when 52% of Britons voted in a Referendum to leave the European Union, a seismic vote that was totally unexpected to Europe, the British populace and the government which campaigned to remain.

Today’s letter symbolises the government bending to the democratic will of the British people.

For many Britons, it comes as a shock that they will soon no longer be able to have freedom to trade across the EU.

For those who love to travel, or who work or do business across the EU, the prospect of having to obtain a visa or work permit now to work anywhere else in the continent is almost unimaginable, as freedom of movement disappears across the horizon.

Like any “divorce” proceedings however, the negotiations are expected to be a painful, protracted process for all concerned, with fears in Europe that other countries might be tempted to follow Britain’s example.

But Britain is optimistic that it will come out of all this a stronger player in the world economy and global politics.

There are, however, internal rumblings within Britain itself as Scotland’s Members of Parliament voted yet again to hold a referendum on independence, particularly as Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU in June 2016.

Questions are also now being raised about the lack of border control at the moment between Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, and the Republic of Ireland which is an EU member.

Whatever deals on immigration, trade, customs union, finance, agriculture, fisheries, security, defence, education, science, and so on are agreed by the UK and the EU, the rest of the remaining 27 members of the EU will still have to give their seal of approval.

Not one of them is expected to agree to anything that will be detrimental to their own countries or their nationals now living in the UK.

There are politicians and commentators, particularly from the Liberal Democrats, who until the last moment believed that the process of withdrawal could still be reversed before the two years are out. While this might be possible technically, the political fallout would equally be monumental and far-reaching. For May, "This is a historic moment from which there is no turning back."

For the Philippines and other countries, Brexit might be good news as Britain will be free after two years to negotiate its own trade deals with any country in the world, probably under World Trade Organization rules.

A British trade delegation has, in fact, been visiting Davao and the Visayas to explore potentials for trade between the two countries when Brexit is completed.

There are an estimated 1m Filipinos across Europe. For Filipinos who are included in the 3 million Europeans now living in the UK, and among the 1.2 million Britons who now live in the European Union, there is great uncertainty as to what will happen to them. Those who have no Permanent Residence here yet are particularly worried about how they will be treated.

Many European-Filipinos moved to the UK from Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland and other countries primarily for economic reasons and their ability to speak the English language. They would be hard-pressed to return to their European countries knowing how easy it is to earn money in Britain.

Added to this is the fact that they could easily bring their families from the Philippines to the UK. As European citizens, they are exempted from the immigration requirements to earn a minimum income of £18,600, there is no need to pass any language tests, and the British Embassy charges no fee for European family members, whereas British sponsors would pay a visa fee of US1,500 per person.

For British-Filipinos who live in Britain, with the Brexit process having been triggered, they have no option now but to welcome the change and look positively to a future outside of the European Union, come March 2019, that they hope will bring better things for them and their children.