Philippine Embassy in New Zealand reopens amid eased COVID-19 restrictions

The Philippine Embassy in Wellington resumed operations after the New Zealand government eased restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
In a statement on Thursday, the DFA said the embassy reopened on Monday after the New Zealand government downgraded the alert level from Level 4 to Alert Level 2.
While New Zealand went under a lockdown at Alert Level 4 since March 25, the embassy operated remotely through work-from-home arrangements for seven weeks.
During the implementation of lockdown, the DFA said the embassy organized a repatriation flight for stranded Filipinos and provided food relief to affected residents.
Upon its reopening, the embassy complied with New Zealand government’s safety regulations regarding sanitation, personal protective equipments, safe work stations, and contact tracing mechanisms.
Office hours are limited and clients are required to make prior appointments, the DFA said.
Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Jesus S. Domingo said the office cannot mount Consular missions outside Wellington for the rest of the year due to some adjustments in its budget.
“We now operate on a sharply reduced budget due to the Government’s austerity measures as it prioritizes combating COVID-19 and providing relief to our people back home,” Domingo said.
“However, the Embassy will be open on Sundays to accommodate our kababayan who can only come to Wellington on the weekends,” he added. --Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News

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