At the onset, simple yet highly intelligent are two attributes of the Philippine Consul General (PCG) Jerril Santos. For sure, he is more than these two attributes after talking to him in this exclusive interview. He is the top Philippine government official here in Texas, and six other states under his jurisdiction. When asked if how he feels about being in the cover of One Philippines newsmagazine, he said “I am not very comfortable being in the limelight nor being interviewed publicly, but my job involves being in the forefront. It is inevitable not to be seen or being photographed.”
One Philippines is privileged to get a closer encounter with Congen Santos and know more about what he loves about his job, his accomplishments and challenges and his perspectives of the Filipino American community in Houston.
More than candidly, Congen Santos talked about his biggest accomplishment since he came to Houston. He said “We wanted to bring the services of the Philippine government closer to the people, and I took it as a challenge. When we reopened the consular office, we built it from scratch, we must get the office together. Our main goal was to make the services accessible and convenient to the people, and we achieved that.”
One Philippines asked the Consul General about people complaining about too many requirements when getting a document from the Consulate Office. Congen Santos explained that “The process and requirements are set by the home office, we are just here to implement them. Sometimes the requirements are meticulous and numerous, but this is to prevent misrepresentations or fraud.” He cited an example of other Filipinos having multiple passports, and he added that “Misuse of documents and identity theft are common issues. We make sure that the documents are properly used. And so far, there are no more flaws because we strictly implement the standards of issuing documents.”
One Philippines agreed that the community needs to understand the processes and requirements to access consular services. Understandably, the Philippine Consulate in Houston has a job to do. Congen Santos said that “Delivering services is our consular responsibility. People don’t have to bring anything to avail themselves of our services. I tell my staff that we need to smile, be polite but be firm because every day you meet different types of people, there are those who are nice and rude, maybe they’re having a bad day. Staff need to understand that situations are real. We are here to serve to the best of our abilities.”
Congen Santos applauded his staff for their dedication and hard work that they put into their job. He stated that “The biggest challenge of the Consulate Office is the increase of people to serve and not getting an increase of people in the office. These are the same 12 people in my office who answer the phones, work on the counters, respond to numerous emails and arrange out of state consular services. We have budget limitations in the consulate office, we are expected to deliver 100% or more but we have much less than 100% resources. When we do consular services, my staff put up a lot of work, which includes travelling early in the morning, carrying the needed machines and office equipment, setting up the venue and returning to the office after the event.”
When asked about his impression of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in Houston area ad in Texas in general, he said that “The community is composed of educated population – nurses, doctors, teachers, and other professionals. They are accomplished people, and they take pride in what they do in the community. It is a heartwarming experience to meet our kababayans, with high level of intellect.”
His message to the community is “We can be strong, but the problem is we have so many differences in the community. Unity remains to be our goal and a dream. There are a lot of personal break ups from people. Maybe we can set aside our personal issues and work for the greater good of the many. We may not be united but that doesn’t stop us from working together for the greater good of the community. This is what we are pushing from the Consulate office. We are putting the interests of the community at the forefront. Let’s think about how the community benefits from working together, from cooperation rather than highlighting the differences. If we cannot be friends, let’s not become enemies. There are a lot of organizations pursuing their own goals, but when it comes to working for the benefit of the community, let’s sit down together, work together for the community.”
One Philippines is aligned with the purpose of the Consulate Office in uniting the community. The newsmagazine has been the frontrunner in featuring encouraging and positive stories about leaders and organizations, recognizing that there are underlying conflicts and personal differences among leaders and groups.
As we see Congen Santos leave his post sometime this year, One Philippines did not want to miss the opportunity to put him on the cover of the February issue of the newsmagazine. As we all know, February is the month of love. It is so fitting to introduce the Philippine Consul General Jerril Santos one more time, and highlight his labor of love in the service of Filipinos and Filipino Americans here in Texas and the 6 other states. Congratulations Consul General Santos! We will be forever grateful for your outstanding service and unwavering support! Mabuhay po kayong lahat sa Konsulado!
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