Following up with the news reported by ScandAsia earlier this year regarding the risk of Philippines Embassies and consulates closure, the Department of Foreign Affairs is now pushing through the closure of 10 embassies and consulates abroad, two of which are in Sweden and Finland.
It is confirmed that 10 of 94 Philippines Embassies and consulates abroad will be closed this year.
“We are working to make the department not only smarter and meaner but also leaner as we undertake a rational program resulting in the closure of 10 posts,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario recently told the Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines.
“The move is necessary as we can allocate limited resources to areas of greater need,” He added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Raul Hernadez, told the Inquirer that the posts to be affected are those in Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Saipan, Northern Marianas; Caracas, Venezuela; Barcelona, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; Frankfurt, Germany; Bucharest, Romania; Havana, Cuba; and the west Pacific island-state of Palau.
Hernandez said that six of the missions would be closed by July and the rest by October. “It is final. The President Benigno Aquino has already approved it,” he added.
