DFA to close 10 embassies, consulates

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs will push through with the closure of 10 of its 90-plus embassies and consulates abroad, said Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario as he stressed the need for a “smarter, meaner and leaner” foreign office.

Del Rosario the other day told the Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines  they were “working to make the department not only smarter and meaner but also leaner as we undertake a rational program resulting in the closure of 10 posts.”

The move, he said, was necessary “so that we can allocate limited resources to areas of greater need.”

Del Rosario did not identify the missions to be closed. But Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson, told the Inquirer the posts to be affected were those in Saipan, Northern Marianas; Caracas, Venezuela; Barcelona, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; Frankfurt, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Bucharest, Romania; Helsinki, Finland; and Havana, Cuba; and the west Pacific island-state of Palau.

Hernandez earlier said six of the missions would be closed by July and the rest by October. “It is final. (President Benigno Aquino) has already approved it,” he added.