Philippines Embassy consular services in the Eastern Province, Qassim, Hail and other regions outside Riyadh have been postponed indefinitely due to lack of funds, a press statement said. The monthly consular services included passport renewal, attestation of documents and labor counseling. The disruption in services came in an embassy announcement canceling the scheduled “Embassy on Wheels” event in Al-Khobar Sept. 3-4 to provide consular services to Filipinos in EP, which includes the Dammam Greater Area, Jubail, Khafji, Hafer Al-Batin and Al-Ahsa, The statement said “maintenance and other operating expenses” involved in organizing the “Embassy on Wheels” had taken “a heavy toll” on the embassy's budget, forcing the cancellation. Until such time funds are made available to the embassy, Filipinos in EP will have to travel over 300 km to the embassy in Riyadh for consular services, the statement said. Under the present Machine Readable Passport (MRP) system, the passport renewal process requires Filipinos to make a personal appearance at the embassy. The embassy is seeking additional funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila so as to resume the services, the statement said.
