NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Consular Office in Tagbilaran City will open before the end of this year.
This was bared by DFA Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Adelio Angelito Cruz to Cong. Edgar Chatto during a visit last Friday, May 3.
Cruz said it’s not easy to open a consular office as he thanked Chatto for sponsoring House Bill No. 8767 for the creation of a consular office in Tagbilaran City.
This scheme in Bohol is an ideal scenario where government leaders and private proponents are very supportive, working closely and personally present to make quick decisions, he stated.
Cruz also met with the Alturas Group led by Marlito Uy and inspected the proposed space for the consular office at the Alturas Mall.
The DFA Tagbilaran City Consular Office will provide services including application for new passports and renewal of passports.
According to Cruz, it will also process authentication of documents or apostille, a form of authentication that seeks to simplify the process of legalizing and authenticating public documents so that they can be recognized internationally in foreign countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty.
For foreigners, the consular office can also, on a case-to-case basis, be a conduit to their respective embassies for any emergency.
The DFA expects a minimum foot traffic of 600 for this consular office size and projects up to 269,000 annual foot traffic.
The finalization of designs and review of agreement will be the next steps, with the DFA extending an invitation to the Alturas Group to observe the flow of people and procedures at DFA Aseana.
Uy, for his part, committed to facilitate the space requirements for the consular office.
Chatto said this is a welcome development especially for Boholanos needing consular services.
Clients from other provinces could come in which would be beneficial to both parties and the province, he added.
The first district solon had strongly pushed for the inclusion of the funding for the operationalization of the consular office in the 2024 national budget.
The P16.2M budget allocation will cover P5.4M for personnel services, P9.1M for maintenance and other operating expenses, and P1.6M for capital outlay.
Cruz was joined by Conrado Demdem, Jr., DFA office director for policy planning and coordination and Marx Ian Rulloda, assistant to the executive director and administrative officer of consular affairs during the visit.