Philippine Consulate to shut down

  Citing budgetary constraints, the Philippine Consulate General on Saipan will shut down sometime in July or August, after more than two decades of serving the Filipino community in the CNMI.

Consul General Medardo Macaraig made the announcement in a news briefing at the Consulate, located on the fifth floor of the Marianas Business Plaza in Susupe, saying their responsibilities will be transferred to the Philippine Consulate General in Agana, Guam, as part of a wider effort to consolidate foreign service posts in the Pacific.

Macaraig said that they have already begun preparations for the transfer of responsibilities to the Consulate General in Guam.

“During this period of transition, the Philippine Consulate General in Saipan, the Philippine Consulate General in Guam and the Department of Foreign Affairs shall endeavor to effect the smoothest transition possible during this period,” Macaraig read the official statement.

The Philippine Consulate General on Saipan opened its doors to the Filipino community on April 3, 1989, under the direction of then Consul Julius D. Torres, now the Consul General in Hawaii.

Its closure would mean that the estimated 8,000 to 9,000 Filipinos in the CNMI will no longer have direct access to consular services such as passport renewals, issuance of overseas employment certificates, and membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which is an attached agency along with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.

Also, Filipino workers will no longer be able to avail of free training courses that the Consulate, through POLO, offers to the community on a quarterly basis.

Macaraig said in an interview before the briefing that DFA’s decision will affect some 12 Consulate employees on Saipan, two of whom were hired locally and “will have to be let go.” The remaining staff will head back to their headquarters in Manila.

Macaraig disclosed that he has been in constant communication with the head of the Consulate in Guam to facilitate the transition process.

When asked if there are any efforts to make it easy for Filipinos in the CNMI to travel to Guam to avail of consular services, Macaraig said that travel to Guam or any part of the U.S. is “within the purview of U.S. immigration officials and federal government.”

“But what we can do is to recommend to our Consulate in Guam to come here as often as possible, similar to what we are doing for the Filipino community on Tinian and Rota,” he added.

According to Macaraig, they will hold mobile consular services on Tinian and Rota to accommodate the needs of Filipino workers there before they totally shut down.

Macaraig would not confirm other Philippine foreign service posts that will also be closed down.

Dismay

The Fitial administration expressed dismay yesterday about this new development despite earlier reports discussing this eventuality.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial noted the importance of having a consulate on Saipan given the “significant” number of Filipinos in the Commonwealth.

“The Consulate has always been instrumental in providing assistance to its citizens living and working here,” Fitial said in a statement. “Moreover, the CNMI government has enjoyed a very healthy working relationship with Consul General Macaraig and his predecessors.”

Macaraig met with Fitial weeks ago to inform him about the possibility of shutting down the Consulate. But the governor “was still hopeful that DFA would reconsider its plans” by taking into account the new CNMI-only transitional worker system that has impacted Filipinos workers.

“This is a period when Filipino workers constantly seek the assistance of the Consulate in order to ensure that they are in compliance with new requirements brought about by the federalization of immigration,” added Fitial.

Petition

Macaraig revealed that he met with Filipino community leaders last Feb. 8, before the official announcement.

“A lot of them were disappointed,” he said. “Nevertheless, we have to send them this information as it may affect their lives and their stay here in the Northern Marianas.”

Rudy Francisco, former officer of Movers and was among the over 40 attendees during Wednesday’s meeting, said it will be difficult to lose the consulate on Saipan.

“I was surprised that this was their final decision,” he told Saipan Tribune. “The Filipino community leaders who attended the meeting have agreed that we will launch a petition to stop the closing of the consulate.”

He recognized the need for a consulate in Guam but also pointed out the demand for a consulate on Saipan.

“We will try to gather as much signatures as possible for our petition,” he added.

United Filipino Organization president Bong Malasarte said that losing the consulate would be a challenge for Filipinos in the CNMI since it is not easy to travel to Guam.

Moreover, he said, justifying that the consulate’s closure as a means to save resources does not make sense for Filipinos in the Commonwealth given that it will not be the Filipino workers who will benefit from this plan.

“I know that there are those who do not think that they will be impacted by the shutting down of the Consulate but they will be because they would need consular services one way or another. How can they access these services if we don’t have an office here? We need to keep the consulate open,” said Malasarte.