PHL Consulate General seen to open in Chengdu, China in 3 years

CHENGDU CITY, China - The Philippine government is expected to open a Consulate General in the capital city of Sichuan province in China within the next three years, an official of the Embassy of People's Republic of China in the Philippines said.

"Last year, the Philippine government decided to build a Consulate General here in Chengdu because more and more Chengdu people wants to visit the Philippines," said Charlie Liu, Third Secretary of the embassy's political division, in an interview with reporters on Thursday.
 
Earlier this month, China issued an advisory cautioning against travel to the Philippines.
 
The documents needed to make the consulate project happen have been finished and the search for a site in underway. "We hope to finish in three years," Liu said.
 
Liu noted that the Philippine government may have noticed the increase of chartered flights from Sichuan province to and from the country "so they may have decided to build a Consulate General here."
 
"It depends if we can find a piece of land, and also the speed of the Philippine government in undergoing the procedure," he said, when asked for an exact date on the opening of the Consulate General.
 
Consulate General in Davao
 
The Chinese government has also decided to have a Consulate General in Davao City.
 
"Davao people who will apply for visa to China have to go to Cebu City," Liu said. "It's difficult for them, for the local people in Mindanao, they have to go to Cebu to apply for their visas."
 
He added that the new Consulate General would help Filipinos in the southern part of the country get access to their services, including visa application.
 
Liu said the Chinese government is still looking for a location, a search that may take about three years to conclude.  — ELR, GMA News

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