Philippine consulate’s last day is Oct. 31

The Philippine Consulate General on Saipan will be officially closing its doors on Oct. 31, a Wednesday.

Consul General Medardo G. Macaraig confirmed yesterday that he was notified about this decision during his recent trip to Manila, the Philippines.

Macaraig left on March 2 to meet with officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and other heads of embassies and consular posts in the United States, coinciding with a meeting for foreign post heads in the Middle East. He flew back to Saipan last Friday.

“Oct. 31 is the last day that we will be open to the public, barring any holidays,” Macaraig told Saipan Tribune.

Macaraig said the consular staff will be flying back to the Philippines after their last day. They have yet to be notified if they will be reassigned to another foreign post, he added.

The consul general said that they are already making arrangements on what to do with their furniture and fixtures and the rest of consulate assets on island.

According to Macaraig, only two consular employees will remain after Oct. 31 to deal with any last-minute concerns and issues at the office.

Macaraig said he plans to meet with Filipino community leaders this week to inform them about what transpired at the Manila meeting.

He noted that Filipinos in the CNMI are in a better position than those in other parts of the world who have more need for embassies and consular posts.

“Let’s face it, the conditions here are not the worst in the world,” said Macaraig. “There are Filipinos out there who are experiencing far worse than us here.”

At the meeting, Macaraig had the opportunity to get together with Guam Consul General Bayani Mangibin, who gave his word that he will look after the needs of the Filipino community in the Commonwealth. The Guam Consulate General will be taking over the responsibilities of the Saipan and Palau consular offices.

“I got a commitment from him that they will be here on Saipan at least twice a year and once a year on Tinian and Rota,” said Macaraig.

To demonstrate their commitment and to facilitate the transition, Mangibin will be sending his deputy to Saipan to be introduced to the Filipino community, said Macaraig.

He also said that the Guam Consulate General is already looking at maintaining a 670 or a CNMI-based phone number so Filipinos on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota will have access to their office.

When asked about the impact of the recently concluded signature campaign to retain the services of the Saipan Consulate General, Macaraig said it was not brought up at the meeting.

The United Filipino Organization, the umbrella organization of some 30 Filipino groups in the CNMI, spearheaded the petition drive to keep the consulate open, gathering a total of 4,808 signatures, copies of which were delivered to the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs and other government offices.

UFO president Bong Malasarte said yesterday that their petition proposed the downsizing of the consulate by reducing their manpower and other expenses such as office rental. This, he said, would have allowed the consulate to continue with their operations despite a limited budget.

“What we are fighting for here is to retain the services of the consulate, even with a minimum staff. We’re not asking them to keep the entire staff,” he clarified.

Malasarte said that while DFA officials have already set the last day for the consulate, their group will still attempt to bring their petition and proposal to President Benigno Aquino III himself as a last resort.

“We cannot guarantee anything for the Filipino community at this point but we will still try to do something right to the end,” he said.

Macaraig pointed out that the twice-a-year commitment from the Guam Consulate general to Filipinos in the CNMI is “better than nothing.”