'HELP!': Pinoys in Barcelona want consular office reopened


Sandra Sotelo Aboy, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Posted at Apr 12 2018 08:39 PM
Filipinos affected by the closure of the consulate rally in front of the Silken Hotel where the Philippine Embassy was holding a consular mission outreach in Barcelona, Spain. Sandra Sotelo Aboy, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
BARCELONA, Spain - Several Filipinos, representing various groups and organizations in Barcelo, held a rally in front of the Consular Mission Outreach by the Philippine embassy at Silken Hotel, on April 7, 2018.
A huge sign with the word “HELP!” expressed the main agenda of the gathering. A petition letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte also made the rounds for signature campaign.
“We are here to appeal to the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] to speed up the process because 2 day-consular services is not enough for all the Filipinos in Cataluña,” said Marc Malapitan, president of Kalayaan group and one of the organizers of the event.
The consulate closed down when the term of its honorary consul, Jordi Puig, was cut short after he allegedly violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. 
Puig had posted a photo of himself on social media at a protest rally against police violence and repression during the Catalonia referendum on independence.
“We´re here not against the Filipino government, not against the central government of Spain. We’re here in favor of public service. We´re here to look for solutions and especially to get a date. We want to know when this office is going to open. And during this gap, we need public service. It could be in the form of the City Hall lending a space and the Embassy lending personnel from Madrid to process papers. It could be in any other form. We’re here to collaborate,” said Malapitan.
At the dialogue meet-up at the hotel entrance, Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Emmanuel Fernandez disclosed the circumstances that led to the closure of the office and reiterated the speedy action of the embassy in looking for a new appointee.
“The name of the replacement has already been submitted since 5th February to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain and Philippine DFA for signature and approval. But everything has to undergo a process such as candidate scrutiny and background check. These steps cannot be bypassed. But it’s already on the desk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It’s a matter of waiting,” explained Fernandez.

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