PH Consulate General may be shut down

The Filipino community in the CNMI could lose its Philippine Consulate General as the office is reportedly among the 12 embassies and consulates that the Department of Foreign Affairs plans to close down by the end of 2012 to “rationalize” the agency’s resources.

Recent Philippine media reports state that Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario had disclosed at a Senate Finance Committee hearing a memorandum that he sent to President Benigno Aquino III outlining his recommendation to close the posts.

Although Del Rosario declined to identify the 12 posts pending the president’s approval, Malaya columnist Rey O. Arcilla on Tuesday identified the posts as the consulates general in Barcelona, Frankfurt, Saipan, and Palau as well as embassies in Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

A “Rationalization of Foreign Service Posts” circular signed by Undersecretary Rafael Seguis directs 59 posts to justify their existence based on the three pillars of Philippine foreign policy: national security, economic security, and protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of Filipinos overseas.

Closing down the 12 posts by 2012 would translate to savings of about P100 million to P150 million ($2.3 million to $3.5 million) to the Philippine government, said Sen. Franklin Drilon, Senate Finance Committee chair.

According to Drilon, the Philippines may be retaining far too many of these foreign posts. At present, the Philippines has some 94 embassies and consulates worldwide.

‘Always a possibility’

When asked for comments, Consul General on Saipan Medardo Macaraig said that his office has yet to receive any official announcement from DFA in Manila regarding the shutdown of the consulate.

“It’s always a possibility,” Macaraig told Saipan Tribune. “DFA has the authority to downsize, downgrade, or close foreign posts subject to our laws.”

Macaraig confirmed submitting to the head office a report that justifies Saipan’s need for a consulate.

Macaraig pointed out that the number of Filipinos in the CNMI has seen a huge drop since the implementation of Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law, most notably between the period after the final rule governing transitional workers in the Commonwealth was released in September up to the deadline for filing CW status for these workers.

Although there is no threshold in the number of Filipinos that must be present in order to maintain a post, Macaraig said that it is still a “major consideration” in policy and decision-making of the agency.

Macaraig estimates the number of Filipino workers in the CNMI at 8,000, which is also based on the estimate of the local government itself.

He noted, too, that the quantity of Filipinos who have sought assistance from the Consulate since the release of the final worker rule in September was “not like we expected. It was not an alarming rate,” he said, adding that they have helped less than 100 Filipino workers.

Should the consulates on both Saipan and Palau close down, Macaraig said that Filipino workers in these two jurisdictions will have to go to the nearest consulate-in Agana, Guam-to avail of consular services.

Media reports state that the Filipino community in Palau has already started circulating a petition to retain the consulate there.

Macaraig assured the Filipino community in the CNMI that they will be immediately informed through a meeting once any decision on the matter is finalized.