IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD, HE’S THE ‘KABAYAN’ FILIPINOS TURN TO FOR HELP AND ADVICE
▶ Paul Cortes, Philippines consul general, tells Nick Webster how he has handled the UAE’s visa amnesty
Visa woes. Arrested citizens. Traffic accidents. And holidaymakers in hospital with bills they can’t pay.
The job of a senior diplomat in any country far from home is a daily challenge. When there’s trouble at hand, you need a countryman or woman – a kabayan – who won’t let you down.
For Paul Cortes, Philippines consul general, the weight of expectation sits heavily on his shoulders. He is often seen as the last ray of hope for Filipinos in a desperate situation.
As chief of mission in the UAE for one of the largest expatriate communities of Philippine nationals, Mr Cortes and his staff have been at the centre of the UAE’s visa amnesty campaign.
The drive has allowed thousands of expats living and working without visas the chance to legalise their status in the country or to go home, with visa fines waived.
So it has been a busy two weeks.
“All of the Filipinos here in the UAE still have a Philippine passport, so use the consulate for any kind of assistance – we don’t see this kind of demand for government services anywhere else in the world,” said Mr Cortes, who moved to Dubai in 2015 with his wife and three children.
“People expect you to be their last ray of hope, and that is a big responsibility. If you cannot play that role, then who can?
“I take my position very seriously, because I would want someone else to be able to play that role for my own family.”
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas estimates that about 10.2 million Filipinos live or work abroad – about 11 per cent of the population.
Mr Cortes was appointed chief of mission in Dubai after postings in Europe and the United States over the past 20 years.
Before his arrival, the consulate in Dubai struggled to meet the requirements of its citizens, ranking last in government performance criteria.
Last year, the Dubai office was named the best performing Philippines service mission, with Mr Cortes presented with the Gawad Mabini award for distinguished foreign service by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Since 2015, procedures at the consulate have been streamlined to speed up the process for visitors seeking help.
A courtesy queuing lane was introduced and a special consular day was introduced to address backlogs in the passport appointment system.
A shorter processing time for documents was implemented and notarised documents were released earlier to help nationals.
Last year, the Dubai mission processed 71,566 passports and notarised 57,603 documents. It also repatriated 1,269 distressed Filipinos, including 23 medical repatriations and 19 shipments of remains.
Previous postings for Mr Cortes included Budapest and Honolulu, between 1998 and 2004, where the demand for service was very different.
“It is totally different here in Dubai,” he said.
“People look at me as the answer to all their problems, and that is not always possible.
“There is a constant demand for help, and with people often asking for help at all hours of the day and night, it is not a normal nine-to-five job.
“We have to be available constantly, so I get calls in the middle of the night from Filipinos who need help.
“Some people have a different time frame when they need help, and it is not just phone calls, it is Facebook messages, other social media, and I have to make it clear to people where we are and exactly what services we can provide.
“It puts pressure on the family, but we deal with it.”
As one of the biggest foreign service posts outside the Philippines, by the very nature of the job Mr Cortes is a busy man. The problems he has been asked to intervene with during the visa amnesty are familiar.
“It has been busier than normal, but it has been the usual fare,” he said.
“There has been a lot of demand for consular services. We have about 700 people coming in and out each day for passport services and visa inquiries. Demand for the government’s amnesty programme has led to a spike in calls for help. I get to see many of our nationals who are in hospital. About 40 per cent have their own health care in place, but there are many who don’t.
“This is when the Philippine government steps in, either financially, spiritually or morally.
“The government can’t be the answer to everything, but we can provide critical information when it’s needed for our community.”