DFA to expand with more foreign posts, passport centers

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

FILE: The Department of Foreign Affairs Building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, which used to be the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank. (Photo By Lawrence Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is planning to widen its reach through the expansion of offices in the country as well as in Asia and the United States, said DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday.

DFA will be opening soon three consulates in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; South Korea, and the US and will establish five more regional consular offices, on top of its more than 30 other 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 over PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

Post-pandemic, Manalo said consular services here and overseas have improved, with backlogs no longer an issue.

“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 passport is faster– if we could further improve, we will do so),” he said.

Improving cooperation

On top of providing services to overseas and traveling Filipinos, Manalo said the DFA would sustain efforts in enhancing political and economic relations with other countries.

In the year ahead, he said the DFA would improve cooperation in various fields, including on cybersecurity and climate change with both bilateral partners and multilateral bodies such as the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“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 (here in the region because we also have Filipino victims of cybercrimes and cyber trafficking),” he said.

On climate change, the Philippines will closely work with the board of the Loss and Damage Fund.

“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.