The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Taichung extension office is to start downsizing its operations from today due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, MECO Chairman and Resident Representative Angelito Banayo said yesterday.
Only labor-related services by the Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration would remain available in the Taichung branch, Banayo said.
Consular and notarial services, and overseas absentee voting would be available at the MECO’s Taipei and Kaohsiung offices, he added.
MECO chose to downsize the Taichung office despite the high number of documents and applications it handles due to geographical considerations, he said, urging the Philippine community in Taiwan to understand the reason for the move.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been notified of the downsizing, he added.
Arthur Abiera, head of the Taichung office, was scheduled to return to MECO’s headquarters in Manila yesterday to assume the post of executive director for Manila operations, Banayo said, adding that other staff at the Taichung office would be moved to the Taipei or Kaohsiung branch offices.
Passport renewal services would be offered in Taipei and Kaohsiung, he said.
Capacity for handling passport applications in Taipei would be raised to 100 passports per day, up from the current 50 to 70 passports per day, while the Kaohsiung office would be capable of handling about 80 applications per day, up from the current 40 passports per day, Banayo said.
MECO is a private entity that receives no funding from the Philippine government, although it functions as a de facto embassy in the absence of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the Philippines.
Visa applications at the Taichung branch have decreased due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, depriving the office of a large percentage of its operational income, Banayo said.
MECO Administrative Service Director Gerry de Belen said that the Taichung office received the last batch of consular and notarial applications on Monday, while it continued issuing passports and other documents until yesterday.
Those who have applied for passports at the Taichung office, but have not to collected them yet would have to claim them at the Taipei office, he added.
To collect their passports at the Kaohsiung office, applicants would have to request this via telephone at the Taipei office, De Belen said.
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