Previous Story
Consular mission kicks off; Arago is confirmed as honorary consul
Absent an official office on Saipan, the Philippine Consulate General in Guam has confirmed an honorary representative to the CNMI, Eli Arago.
The honorary consul can help process reports of birth and other documents, not including passport renewals.
Consul Mark Francis Hamoy of Guam disclosed yesterday that Arago has “already been accredited by the U.S. State Department” for the position.
“But he still won’t be able to enter into his duties until we are able to complete other formalities, such as his oath-taking—which will be scheduled as soon as possible—and the issuance of his consular mission,” Hamoy added.
They hope to complete these procedures by June, Hamoy said.
Right now the CNMI has no Philippine consulate general office. Ten consular posts around the world were closed in 2012 due to cost-cutting measures.
Yesterday, the Philippine Consulate General Office in Guam began their second outreach mission this year at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.
This month’s mission is “abbreviated,” according to Hamoy. It will run three days versus the five days it ran in January.
Hamoy explained they had originally planned a back-to-back mission to Rota following Saipan, but that was postponed.
Because of this they only expect to process about 360 passports. They usually process around 600.
Hamoy said they expect to return to this number and their five-day stay during their next mission on island.
He said Rota and Tinian missions will no longer be back-to-back with Saipan missions.
Rota and Tinian visits will be scheduled for the “latter part of the year,” he said, around the third or fourth quarter.
The office expects to release more than 500 passports during this week’s mission, according to Hamoy.
He urged the 500-plus Philippine nationals to claim their passports as soon as they can.
