31 March 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in Agana, Guam conducted the second consular outreach mission for 2015 in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) from March 25 to 27. Consul Mark Francis C. Hamoy led the six-person team that set up operations at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe where they extended a total of 566 consular services to Filipinos on Saipan, including 332 e-Passport applications, 25 extensions of passport validity, 16 reports of birth, two reports of marriage, five authentications, 110 notarials, and 64 employment contract verifications. Meanwhile, an additional 190 overseas voters were registered for the 2016 national elections during the consular mission.

The frequent visits of the consular team based in Guam served to respond to the need of Filipinos on Saipan for consular services, especially for the renewal of passports which is a requirement to update their immigration status in the CNMI. By making the visits more regular and frequent, the Philippine Consulate General in Agana has managed to stabilize the demand for new passports. Philippine Consul General Marciano R. de Borja expects to continue the regular consular missions to Saipan for the rest of 2015 so that Filipinos who need valid passports for their immigration status renewal can readily do so without having to go through the complicated and costly process of traveling to Guam.

During the mission, Consul Hamoy also informed the Filipino community in the CNMI through local media that the U.S. State Department already accredited Philippine Honorary Consul to CNMI Glicerio Del Mundo Arago. The Consulate General expects to complete the remaining formalities, including administering Consul Arago’s oath of office, before June so that he could already formally perform his functions.

Consul General de Borja welcomed Consul Arago’s accreditation by the U.S. State Department as his work as Consul ad honorem will provide a big boost to the efforts of the Consulate General in Guam to attend to the consular concerns of Filipinos in the CNMI. END