Consulate replies to visa issuance complaint
Consulate replies to visa issuance complaint
By Riza Khamal
TORONTO–The Philippine Consulate in Toronto admitted the error it committed in a visa transaction with a Canadian-Portuguese applicant but was quick to apologize and offered to amend the mistake.
In a complaint letter sent by Christopher Cameira to The Philippine Reporter, he claimed that the Philippine Consulate failed to follow the dates of his visa based on the flight itinerary he specified in his application. Also, according to him, he was asked to pay again to process another tourist visa. He also alleged that a visa officer pulled the counter blinds down while he was disputing the error on his visa.
In an interview with Orly Manalo, the visa officer who served Cameira, he denied the alleged rude behavior. “No, tapos na kami (we’re done). They (Cameira and a female companion) were already talking. I won’t close the blinds if they were still there in front of me,” says Manalo.
Meanwhile, in an emailed letter from the Philippine Consulate it noted the strict policy and intolerance to any improper conduct from any officers or staff.
“As a matter of strict policy, we do not tolerate rudeness from the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General. We are all under strict orders to take the higher road and anyone caught doing otherwise is taken to task,” the email stated. “In the same breadth, we do not tolerate rudeness from applicants. We are Filipinos and we are a polite people.”
In the same email, the office admitted the error and acknowledged that there’s no excuse to it except a human error, considering the Philippine Consulate is staffed with only 13 people serving the needs of over 300,000 Filipinos in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba. The said correspondence also detailed the apology issued to Mr. Cameira and the offer to amend his tourist visa into a 6-month visa gratis to suit his itinerary had he showed up at the Consulate office on February 1st, the date he specified he was going to pick up his visa.
According to the email, the amended visa was not given to Mr. Cameira because he didn’t show up at the Consulate, instead it was his female companion who came to the office claiming to be authorized by Mr. Cameira to speak on his behalf, but she didn’t even give her name.
Adds the email, “we could not speak with her for the simple reason that she had no legal personality to do so. The aggrieved party was Mr. Cameira and not her. In spite, the lady was informed of the willingness of the officers to meet with Mr. Cameira.”
But in an interview with Acting Head of Post Jesusa Susana V. Paez, she expressed her disappointment and said: “I cannot allow anyone to bully the consulate.”
She also mentioned that the matter of issuing visas remains under the discretion of the visa officer or the issuing authority. In much the same way that anyone who travels to another country has to prove that he or she deserves to be issued a visa. A visa officer does not even have to explain the reason behind the approval or denial of a visa. A visa is, therefore, a privilege and not a right.
“It is disheartening when we have to divert the valuable time and resources of the Office, better spent serving our countrymen, into having to parry such false and unfair accusations particularly from one who is not a kababayan,” adds the email.
The email also stated the Philippine Consulate is not a commercial establishment that caters to the needs of “clients”. “We are not. We are the Philippine Consulate General. We represent the Philippine Government and, as such, we prioritize the needs and welfare of Filipinos and the interest of the Philippines over and above all.” The letter also emphasized that the Office had many changes in the way it conducts official business that gained positive feedbacks from the Filipinos.
“And we gain strength and inspiration from these. Rest assured we will not allow this misplaced complaint to deter us from executing our mandate and from better serving our countrymen,” the email noted. “We try our best to serve. First and foremost, we are civil servants,” says Ms. Paez during the interview.
Meanwhile, in a phone conversation with The Philippine Reporter, Mr. Cameira expressed that he is not disappointed with what happened, but he wants to merely share an experience so that no one will go through it again. Mr. Cameira also said that he is willing to meet with the Consulate officers, after the failed supposed meeting, to avail a visa that will suit his flight itinerary.
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