Last Friday (September 21), the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the Philippine Consulate General in Houston is set to reopen on September 24 (Monday), almost three decades after it was closed in September 1993, as shared in a report by the Philippine News Agency.
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According to the DFA, the consular branch in the US State is expected to serve around 179,000 Filipinos under its jurisdiction, including those from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
DFA Announces Reopening of PCG in Houston After 25 Years
With its reopening scheduled later this month, Houston PCG will be the first Foreign Service post to open in 2018.
Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano shared last January that the government intends to open four consular offices abroad within the year, citing three others in Copenhagen, Denmark; Frankfurt, Germany; and Al-Khobar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with Houston, Texas to complete the shortlist.
Cayetano shared, “The reopening of our Consulate General in Houston is consistent with the priorities laid down by President Duterte for us to bring our services closer to Filipinos overseas.”
He further explained that through the Consulate General in the US State, the DFA will seek to extend its foreign services to Filipinos based in that part of the US.
In line with this, Consul General Jerrill Santos shared that the reopening of the PCG in Houston was much called for, considering the growing needs of Filipinos based in South Central US, as well as the clamour of the Filipino community there.
With its opening set by the end of this month, the Consulate General will be rendering civil registry services including Reports of Birth, Marriage and Death, Notarial Services, Affidavit Certification, Issuance of travel documents, as well as fingerprinting for National Bureau of Investigation clearances.
Meanwhile passport processing, visas, authentication, and dual citizenship services are to be made available in the following days.
At present, the Consulate General is temporarily located at 9990 Richmond Avenue, Suite 270N, Houston, Texas and will soon transfer to Suite 100N of the same building by the year-end.
Filipinos in need of consular services or assistance may reach the Houston PCG at +1 (832) 668 5139 or via e-mail at pcghouston.consular@gmail.com.
With the consular office set to be available by the end of this month, our kababayans in the State of Texas, USA will have an accessible channel for their voices and concerns to be heard by the Philippine government.
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