After 27 years absence…

The Houston Consulate will re-open its doors this year!

By Gus Mercado

The few community leaders in Dallas and Houston led by Honorary Consul-General Ethel Mercado and the

PACC Texas officers who knew for a long time exactly the full story and what was happening with the preparations

and the status of the planned re-opening of the Houston Consulate followed protocol and respected the wishes of the

chain of command to keep things under the radar for good reasons. They were also requested to not make premature

announcements until the President signs the Executive Order that would make the re-opening of the Philippine

Consulate in Houston official.

The President has recently signed the Executive Order to implement the plan, release the funds and to mobilize

personnel. The choice of the new Consul General to hold the post in the Houston Consulate has also been made (The

credentials of the Consul-General designate, Ambassador Jerril Santos, will be presented in our next piece). And the

scoping mission of DFA officials who visited Houston for a thorough search of a potential location for the new

Consulate offices and appropriate homes for the Head of Mission and the approximately 12 Consular staff employees

has been completed and their recommendations submitted for consideration and finalization. The Scoping Mission

which was joined by officials of the Consulate General in Los Angeles, the Honorary Consulate in Dallas, and

consular and honorary consulate officials in Chicago and New Orleans met with experts in Houston real estate,

logistics and demographics and brainstormed the make-up and distribution of Filipinos throughout the greater Houston

area, as well as their working styles and driving habits. The needs of Filipinos in other parts of the state (about 60% of

total constituents) as well as from neighboring states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico who

will also benefit from the re-opening of a Consulate, were also studied. From the surveys, several optional choices that

fit the requirements of the Filipinos, as well as the budgetary guidelines of the Philippine government were discussed

by the Task Force in depth.

Mayor Sylvester Turner welcomed the news of the re-opening of the The highly-popular Mayor of Houston welcomed and pledged Philippine Consulate in Houston from Consul-General Adelio Cruz. support to the Consul General and the Phil-Am Chamber officers.

The Consulate Re-Opening Preparations team made two trips to Houston late last year. The first trip was in

November to meet with the Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner to give him a preliminary briefing on the re-opening

which the Mayor and his staff welcomed as a “very significant” development in the City of Houston and gave their

unqualified support. The second trip was composed of a more structured delegation of about 10 consular officials who

represented different groups in the DFA and the U.S. consulates. They spent several days in Houston to scout the city

and toured a number of facilities where the Consulate could be housed. They also looked at the one small residential

(land) property that has been owned by the Philippine government for almost 40 years.

The Honorary Consulate headed by Ethel R. Mercado with the help of the officers of the Philippine American

Chamber of Commerce of Houston led by Atty. Gary Ilagan, Ricky Guinhawa, Tess Tuazon and Ella Guinhawa

provided logistical and management support to the DFA Scoping Team throughout their week-long stay in Houston. It

may be noted that the PACC Texas has been the Philippine government’s reliable projects development partner in

Texas that facilitated the Consulate’s work in the State for more than 10 years.

The DFA Scoping Mission had a thorough immersion into a study Texas experts in population demographics and logistics briefed the of Filipino migration, family makeup and driving habits in Houston . Filipino visitors on potential areas in the Houston area that would be and throughout Texas and site-visited various choices of venue. suitable locations for a Consulate office and staff residences.

Plan to Re-Open the Consulate – now a Fait Accompli

While the Department of Foreign Affairs has not released an official announcement which has leaked in bits

and pieces and is soon expected, from all indications, the plan to re-open the Houston Consulate is a fait accompli.

There is now reason to celebrate for the approximately 250,000 Filipinos who have been severely stymied for 27 years

that they did not have a Consulate and must travel to Los Angeles for their consular needs.

Brief History of the Houston Consulate

There was a Philippine Consulate office in Houston until the Corazon Aquino administration decided to shut it

down, along with consulates in several other U.S. cities, as an austerity measure. It was a slow death for the Houston

Consulate. After the decision to close it down was issued, it went through a succession of short tenures under hold-

over Consul-Generals Antonio Ramirez, Mariano Landicho and Johnny Saez who died in office. The Ramos

administration carried out the close-down order and the Consulate finally shut its doors to the public in September

1993. Since its closure, several Philippine ambassadors to the U.S. and six former Consul Generals in Los Angeles

had strongly endorsed plans to re-open the Consulate. The plan was finally approved during the term of President

NoyNoy Aquino and HR Resolution 822 received congressional funding during the term of President Rodrigo

Duterte. Meanwhile, for 27 years, the Texas Filipinos were denied the services which could only be secured in L.A.

An Honorary (non-salaried) Consul for Texas, Ethel Mercado, was appointed five years ago which could not

renew passports but with powers to issue emergency passports (travel documents) for critical situations when

passports have expired or are lost, document authentication, powers of attorney, visas for non-Filipinos, etc. as well as

provide rapid response to emergency needs statewide of Filipinos in distress. This interim move somewhat mitigated

the sufferings of Filipinos in Texas, many of whom were too old or too weak to make the 1,500 mile trip to L.A.

More importantly, the DFA’s Consular Outreach Program that was started 10 years ago by then L.A. Consul

General Mary Jo Aragon working with then State President of Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce and now

Honorary Consul Ethel R. Mercado alleviated much of the hardships of Texas Filipinos. Working with highly-spirited

and patriotic volunteers who sacrificed their weekends 10 times a year, and equally motivated Consular officials in

L.A. who came to Texas, Ethel Mercado mobilized the PACC Philippine-American Chambers of Commerce in Dallas,

Houston and the Rio Grande Valley and together helped more than 30,000 Filipinos renew their passports, apply for

dual citizenship, register to vote in Philippine elections and secure other consular services without leaving their Texas

home towns. For 10 years, the PACC Texas Chambers of Commerce in Houston, Dallas and the Rio Grande Valley

enabled the Filipinos to collectively save $15 million by not making the expensive trips to Los Angeles.

The DFA Scoping Mission and the L.A. Consular Team were The members of the DFA Scoping Mission braved the wet and hosted and assisted by the officers of the Philippine-American wintry temperatures during their scouting trip and for a day Chamber of Commerce (Houston Region) of touring the NASA facilities in Houston.

The Honorary Consulate and the 10 years of Consular Outreach helped a lot but not enough

Even with such a strong and long record of assisting the Philippine government and its constituents in our

state, the Consular Outreach Program and the pro-bono Honorary Consulate position have proved inadequate to

handle the overwhelming needs of a fast growing Filipino community in the region. For every 1,000 applicants that

each Outreach is able to accept and process, another 1,500 had to be turned away for lack of time and resources.

There is no doubt that re-opening the Consulate is the long-awaited permanent solution. Let us all endorse and

support the move. For 27 years without a Consulate, Texas Filipinos, especially the senior citizens, have suffered long

enough. They deserve this.

The DFA Scoping Mission took the time to look at different potential locations for the new The small empty residential lot that has been Consulate office from high-rises to smaller two-story buildings at different price ranges. a Philippine property for almost 40 years.

And who to thank for this blessing? Just so there is no confusion in the face of circulating fake news trying

to attribute credit to people who contributed nothing to the decision, there is plenty of credit to spread around to many

people who truly worked very hard to make the Consulate a reality. First is the Duterte Administration under whose

watch the project got the funding. Thanks to the President and to the new DFA Secretary Alan Cayetano and new

Philippine Ambassador Babe Romualdez for carrying it out. But in the Philippines, a project of this magnitude with

costly and political underpinnings does not happen overnight. It took many years of pushing and dealing by previous

administrations, finally securing its final approval during the term of Benigno S. Aquino III. And notably, the past

Philippine ambassadors and consul generals who fought for it and Consul General Adelio Cruz who laid the

groundwork and coordinating the scoping mission. I must add Honorary Consul Ethel R. Mercado who has been in the

loop since day one, as well as her crew of quiet volunteers who hosted and assisted the DFA Scoping Mission with all

their needs during their trips to Houston. THANKS to all of the above, Filipinos in Texas will soon see the promised

land.

Reactions to this article may be sent to gusmercado@verizon.net or pacctx@verizon.net. Photo credits: Rick

Guinhawa Photography.