PCG reports on success of consular missions to NMI

The Philippine Consulate General in Guam extended mobile consular missions for Filipinos residing on Saipan and Tinian last Sept. 23-25 and Sept. 26-27, respectively. The consular service on Saipan was held at the Social Hall of the Mount Carmel Cathedral in Chalan Kanoa while the one on Tinian was held at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino.

The consular team was led by Consul Edgar Tomas Q. Auxilian and was composed of Mildred Sayurin (for authentication/notarials, civil registration, dual citizenship and passport services), Emmanuel Garcia (for overseas voting registration), Juliet Simbul (for passport/ATN officer), and Maria Liza Manarin (finance officer).

The consular mission was conducted in close coordination with and support of Philippine honorary consul to the CNMI Glicerio “Eli” Arago, his staff, and the volunteers from the United Filipino Organizations and Bayani Association on Saipan. On Tinian, the consular mission was successfully conducted with the assistance and support of the United Filipino Association in Tinian, or UniFil, headed by Rodney S. Cabarles, president; Mary Susan Cruz, vice president; and other volunteers from UniFil and Tinian Dynasty staff.

During the five-day consular outreach, the following consular services were rendered: 448 ePassports applications/renewal, 160 passport extension (gratis), two travel documents, 69 notarials/authentication, seven reports of marriage, 19 reports of birth, three dual citizenship applications, 29 employment contract verification, and one ATN service.

Also, the consular team was able to register a total of 243 new overseas voters for the May 2016 elections.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration was able to send a representative, Rey Tayag, former OWWA representative on Saipan PCG, who processed a total of 1,539 OWWA membership applications/renewal (1,395 on Saipan, 94 on Tinian and 50 on Rota).

While on Saipan, Auxilian also met with Susan Langhoff, assistant external affairs officer private sector of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA External Affairs, on Sept. 25, together with Arago. Auxilian thanked Langhoff for the assistance extended by FEMA to the Typhoon Soudelor victims in Saipan, including the Filipinos that were badly affected by the typhoon. He also called on Fr. Ryan Jimenez, a Filipino priest and present apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Chalan Kanoa, and met with Bong Malasarte, UFO president, to discuss some concerns and consular needs of the Filipino community.

On Tinian, Auxilian met with Christopher D. Bishop, vice president, project development of the Tinian Realty International Co., and Sterling Lundgren, HR consultant of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino on Sept. 26 and discussed the concern of Filipinos working at the hotel and casino who faced uncertainty regarding their status of employment and impending closure of the operations of the hotel and casino. Sterling assured Auxilian that the hotel will not be closed and will continue operation and that the casino will resume operation as soon as it receives a permit from the Tinian Casino Gaming Commission.

On Sept. 28, Auxilian also paid a courtesy call on Tinian Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas, who is a former CNMI attorney general. San Nicolas thanked the Consulate General for coming to Tinian to attend to the consular needs of the Filipinos whom he considers important contributors to the community on Tinian. Two Tinian council members were also present during the call and they lauded the role and contributions of the Filipinos not only in Tinian but in the whole CNMI. Auxilian also thanked San Nicolas for the kind treatment and support the government has been extending to Filipinos on Tinian. Auxilian was accompanied during the call by Mildred Sayurin and Mary Susan Cruz, UniFil vice president and resident director of the Department of Commerce on Tinian, the very first Filipino to be appointed to this position. (PCG)