Complaints from overseas Filipino workers about being unable to access consular services on their days off have prompted a Senate committee chair to press the Department of Foreign Affairs for a policy overhaul.
Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, directed DFA Assistant Secretary for the Office of Migration Affairs Angelica Escalona to ensure all foreign posts maintain at least a skeletal workforce on days when most OFWs are not working. Tulfo renewed the call on his Facebook page, reposting photos from a joint hearing held April 30 with the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.
The concern is particularly acute in the Middle East, where many OFWs have Fridays as their day off — the same day most Philippine foreign posts are closed. Workers there have raised recurring complaints about being unable to process documents or seek assistance precisely when they are free to do so.
Tulfo also flagged the practice of Philippine posts closing on holidays observed in both the Philippines and their host countries, calling it unacceptable for government personnel abroad to benefit from what he described as “double holidays” at the expense of OFW access to services.
Escalona acknowledged the concerns and committed to a review of existing DFA policy. She noted that overseas posts are currently permitted to select a number of closure days, which do not automatically include every holiday in either the Philippines or the host country.
The issue has been a longstanding grievance among OFWs in Hong Kong, where the Philippine Consulate General is closed every Friday and Saturday, as well as during most Philippine and local holidays — including the recent Holy Week break. Consul General Romulo Israel, Jr. has since ordered the consulate to open at least one Saturday per month to accommodate the large number of OFWs whose rest day falls on that day.
Migrant groups under the Unifil-Migrante alliance have stopped short of calling that arrangement sufficient, pushing instead for regular Saturday operations at the consulate.
