PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL

New York, 03 January 2022 – Despite the continuing threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine Consulate General in New York was able to increase the number of consular services it extended to the public by 70 percent in 2021 compared to the same period the previous year.

Consul General Elmer G. Cato shared the figures during his monthly Pag-Usapan Natin virtual townhall meeting with members of the Filipino Community in the 10 United States northeast states under the Consulate’s jurisdiction on 29 December 2021.

It could be noted that in 2020, the Consulate was forced to drastically reduce the number of services it could extend to the public after New York City authorities issued strict protocols in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Consul General Cato said the Consulate had to do address the growing backlog as a result of the surge in demand for passport and other consular services from members of the Filipino Community.

“As a result of our decision to return to normal operations in the second quarter, we were able to expand the number of services we extended from 16,792 services in 2020 to 30,144 in 2021,” the Consul General said.

According to him the number of dual citizenship applications processed by the Consulate went up by 161 percent followed by passport at 93 percent; civil registration, 46 percent; legalization, 45 percent; and visa, six percent.

The Consulate also more than doubled the number of Serbisyo Sabado sa Konsulado special services and the Konsulado on the Go consular outreach services last year.

In terms of community engagement, Consul General Cato said the Consulate recorded an increase of 140 percent with a 1,504 percent increase in in-person events it conducted.

“This would not have been possible without the dedication, hard work, and sacrifice of the men and women of the Philippine Consulate General,” the Consul General said as he paid tribute to members of the consular staff for this accomplishment.

Consul General Cato, at the same time, assured the Filipino Community that the Consulate can be expected to continue improving the delivery of its services to the public in 2022 with the launching of the Global Online Appointment System (GOAS) and the Online Visa Appointment System (OVAS) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). – END