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PH consul general mulls honorary consuls for each island
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Posted on Mar 24 2012
By Clarissa David
Reporter
Reporter
Consul General Medardo Macaraig is considering having one honorary consul for each island in the Commonwealth after the Philippine Consulate General shuts down in October.
Macaraig said yesterday that he discussed this possibility when he met with Filipino community leaders at the Filipino Workers Resource Center last Friday.
He said having one honorary consul each for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota would be ideal instead of just having one based on Saipan, who would have to travel to Tinian and Rota to deal with issues affecting the Filipino communities in those two islands.
“I asked for assistance from the Filipino community leaders last Friday to identify potential honorary consuls since nobody has stepped up to the plate yet,” Macaraig told Saipan Tribune.
Macaraig noted that the honorary consuls for the three islands, if ever, will be reporting directly to the Philippine Consulate General in Guam.
The Consul General disclosed that he himself already has four individuals in mind as candidates for the honorary consul position. While he declined to identify their names, Macaraig said he has yet to talk to only one person whom he believes is the most deserving given that the person is capable, well-respected, approachable, and easy to talk to.
“I hope we can already identify at least one honorary consul before the Consulate closes down and before the scheduled visit of the representative of the Philippine Consulate General office in Guam in October,” added Macaraig.
The last day for the Philippine Consulate General on Saipan to serve the public is on Oct. 31.
