PHILIPPINE Consul to Guam Joaquin Ricardo Aragon said they are still looking for an honorary consul to the CNMI.
“Having an honorary consul is desirable,” he added. “That remains a priority of the Philippine Consulate General in…Guam. We want to find someone here in the CNMI who is willing to be nominated as Philippine honorary consul — it is not an easy job,” Aragon said.
The previous honorary consul, Tan Holdings Senior Vice President Eli Arago, served from 2015 until he passed away at the age of 69 in Nov. 2021.
Aragon said there is a high demand for Philippine consular services in the CNMI. “An honorary consul needs to have a lot of time and resources, and there are a lot of intangibles involved in the functions of an honorary consul.”
He said the honorary consul is a volunteer and does not receive any official budget from the Philippine government.
The honorary consul, among other things, must also have a good moral character and “sufficient resources to provide and maintain” his or her office.
“So far, no takers,” Aragon added.
Independence Day
On Wednesday, June 12, he will represent Philippine Consul General to Guam Rosario Lemque in the 126th Philippines Independence Day flag-raising ceremony and gala night at Aqua Resort Club.
“We are here to support the Filipino community,” Aragon said. “We’re also here to help maintain our good relations with the CNMI government and to be one with the Filipino community when they celebrate our Independence Day,” he said.
At the United Filipino Organizations’ “Pistang Pinoy” event at the Marianas Business Plaza on Sunday, Aragon and Records Officer Rudy Hilot provided consular services, which included issuing renewed passports to Filipinos, who submitted their applications during the consular outreach in April.
Aragon said besides Guam and the CNMI, the Philippine Consulate General in Hagåtña also serves Filipinos in Palau, the Republic of the Marshalls Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap).
“We visit each jurisdiction to conduct consular services at least twice a year,” Aragon said.
“Next to Guam, the second largest population of Filipinos in this area is here in the CNMI so we try to schedule consular services three times a year — four times if the budget permits,” he added.
Aragon also expressed his gratitude to the Filipino volunteers in the CNMI.
“Even without any consular mobile outreach services, with the help of the Filipino volunteers in the CNMI, we are able to provide assistance to nationals who need help. For example, repatriation. They want to go home but they don’t have any means to do so. So, we assist them by coordinating with the volunteers so they can finally go back home,” Aragon said.
Philippine Consul to Guam Joaquin Ricardo Aragon, right, and records officer Rudy Hilot conducted consular services at the “Pistang Pinoy” on Sunday.
Philippine Consul to Guam Joaquin Ricardo Aragon poses for Variety.
A couple picks up their renewed Philippine passports during “Pistang Pinoy” on Sunday.
