DFA eyeing office expansion in Phl, overseas

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is set to expand its presence both locally and internationally, with plans to open additional consular offices in the Philippines and new diplomatic missions in Asia and the United States, Secretary Enrique Manalo announced on Friday.

Among the upcoming overseas consulates are those in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; South Korea; and the United States.

Meanwhile, five more regional consular offices will be established, adding to the more than 30 existing passport centers nationwide.

“So, aabot nang mga 42 ang regional offices sa Pilipinas. In other words, dadami ang services natin here and abroad (It would soon total to 42 regional offices in the Philippines. In other words, we could provide more services here and abroad),” Manalo said in an interview on PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

Manalo noted that the DFA has made significant improvements in consular services both in the Philippines and overseas, particularly in streamlining passport issuance.

He emphasized that backlogs are no longer a problem and that the agency continues to look for ways to further enhance its services.

“We’ve improved, in fact, ngayon mas mabilis na ang pag-issue ngayon ng passport— kung mai-improve pa namin gagawin namin (Now the issuance of passports is faster— if we could further improve, we will do so),” he said.

Beyond consular services, Manalo reaffirmed the DFA’s commitment to strengthening the country’s diplomatic and economic relations.

This includes expanding cooperation in critical areas such as cybersecurity and climate change, working closely with bilateral partners and multilateral organizations like the United Nations (UN) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“We’re very active sa issues ng cybersecurity dito sa regions ng ASEAN dahil may mga Pilipino din na naging biktima ng mga cybercrimes, cyber trafficking (We’re very active on cybersecurity issues here in the ASEAN region because we also have Filipino victims of cybercrimes and cyber trafficking),” he said.

On climate change, the DFA will play a key role in managing the Loss and Damage Fund, which provides financial assistance to countries vulnerable to climate-related disasters.

“Gusto ko rin sabihin na the Philippines was awarded the headquarters or iyong punong himpilan ng Board of Loss and Damage Fund— (ang) headquarters dito sa Pilipinas makakatulong iyan hindi lang sa atin sa Pilipinas pero sa ibang mga countries na at risk sa climate change (I also want to say that the Philippines was awarded the headquarters of the Board of Loss and Damage Fund— the headquarters here in the Philippines will help not only us in the Philippines but other countries that are at risk from climate change),” Manalo said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *