8 March 2012 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that there will be minimal effects on its services to areas affected by the planned closure of 10 Embassies and Consulates General.
The DFA stated that nearby Embassies or Consulates will take on the jurisdiction and functions of the said missions, as well as more consular missions in the area and the appointment of honorary consuls who will take on the functions of the affected Embassy or Consulate.
It added that consular services in the affected Embassy or Consulate General shall be available to the public up to the last day of their operations, after which the Honorary Consuls or nearby Embassies/Consulates will take over.
The DFA will close the Philippine Embassies in Koror, Palau; Caracas, Venezuela; Dublin, Ireland; Stockholm, Sweden; Havana, Cuba; Bucharest, Romania and Helsinki, Finland, as well as the Consulates General in Barcelona, Spain, Frankfurt, Germany, and Saipan.
The DFA has informed the host governments of the 10 Embassies and Consulates General of its closing, as well as its missions here in Manila. The Filipino communities, under the jurisdiction of the said Embassies and Consulates, were also informed of the closure.
The shutdown of these Philippine missions was primarily due to the need to maximize resources and to augment Embassies and Consulates where there are more Filipinos, especially in the Middle East. Other considerations include potentials for trade, investment and tourism in line with President Benigno S. Aquino III’s goal of poverty alleviation and job creation and his directive for a lean and efficient bureaucracy. END