Reopen Houston consulate

The Department of Foreign Affairs should reopen the Philippine consulate in this city to address the needs of the growing population of Filipinos in Texas, the second biggest state in the US after Alaska.

This was the consensus among Filipino expatriates residing in Houston who were not able to renew their passports during a recent outreach program of the Los Angeles consular office of the Philippines, which has jurisdiction in this fourth largest city in the US.

Specifically, the Filipino expatriates called on Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to speed up the planned reopening of the consular office in Houston. They noted that hundreds of Filipinos were not able to renew their old passports or process their applications for dual citizenship due to the limited time allotted by the consular office in its outreach program.

They also cited the lack of information on available options for those unable to get schedule on the consulate’s website. Some consular staff also lack warmth and hospitality.

Aside from the reopening of the consulate, the Houston based expatriates also suggested that the Philippine Statistics Authorty (formerly National Statistics Authority) set up an extension office in the US to facilitate the issuance of PSA authenticated birth or death certificates.

There used to be a Philippine consulate in Texas but it was shut down in the 90s due to low number of Filipino expatriates in this part of the US. But since then, the number of Filipinos residing in this southern state has boomed. There is now an estimated 200,000 Filipinos, mostly doctors, nurses and teachers, residing in Texas. – NELSON FLORES, Beyond Deadlines, Houston, Texas