The Embassy has forwarded Tanggol Migrante’s letter dated 30 April 2025 to the Department of Foreign Affairs for consideration and appropriate action. A number of requests contained in that letter, including those directly addressed to the President, are beyond the remit of this Embassy and require referral to other agencies. A meeting at this time, when a response from Manila has not yet been received, would likely devolve into a mere reiteration of each other’s positions with no tangible outcomes.
Tanggol Migrante’s request for a meeting with the Embassy, while at the same time planning for major protest rallies in the United States on the same day, indicates a lack of sincerity to discuss concrete measures to assist our detained kababayan and a predetermined plan to use the meeting as a platform to launch further criticisms on the Philippine Government. The recent incident in Oregon, wherein the Consul General of San Francisco agreed, in good faith, to meet members of Tanggol Migrante, only to be confronted with an organized protest immediately after the meeting, is visible proof of this lack of sincerity.
The Embassy would be unable to accommodate Tanggol Migrante’s request for a meeting unless the issues above are addressed. The Embassy remains sincere in its commitment to engage Filipino community organizations in the United States on a wide range of issues and expects the same sincerity from its partners.