Embassy of the Philippines

poooooor customer service! like we call a million times! nobody is answering!!!

This was my last visit. I didn’t get to savor every part of the embassy since I was afraid I wasn’t going to get pictures of the awesome cow outside. I hurried through. There were musicians outside. There were several fun photo opps. The embassy is grand and beautiful.

My husband tried to get a document mailed to him from the LTO in the Philippines authenticated at this embassy and was told he has to send the document back to the Philippines to first get authenticated by the DFA because they don’t have a specimen signature of whoever signed the LTO document. Whaaaaat??? Why is that our problem? If they needed this done for all documents requiring authentication they should detail this in their website. Also, in this age of technology I find it ridiculous that they still need to do this. Lastly when my husband was understandably upset that his trip to DC was for nothing, the people at the embassy had the gall to be annoyed and unprofessional, which I do not understand. It is their JOB to be there and try to offer service to people who are far from home. The people at the embassy were not inconvenienced in any way. All it would have taken from them (if it is indeed their ridiculous out-​dated Jurassic policy to have documents manually authenticated by the DFA first) was an apology, the promise to try to do better, and the possibility that they would look into how to make the process less painful for the people they serve. But of course not. I don’t know why I am surprised. Even though we are in the US this is still a Philippine-​run government agency and stupid pointless red-​tape is the norm. I wish I could give negative stars.

Lack of customer service, the lady at the window was very rude and sarcastic! Very unprofessional! She’s talks to her customers like they’re illiterate. Was trying to find out what’s her name she’s not even wearing a ID or a nametag. They should get rid of her!

Customer service at its worst! I wouldn’t even give a single star to this Embassy. For months, I have tried to contact them though phone calls and emails and not a single time have I been able to get in touch with anybody. I have missed the deadline for a much needed document and up to now, still am trying to reach anybody in any department. Makes me wonder if there’s anybody there that actually works.

I gave 3 stars just because the guy at the labor section was very nice and friendly. The lady at the reception, however, needs to be more courteous. She asked me to wait for the labor guy to pick me up at the entrance, and then proceeded to talk about something. I didn’t know that she was on the phone (she had it on speaker mode). So i answered thinking she was making small talk. She just glared at me like i’m some idiot, and said she’s talking on the phone and i shouldn’t disturb her. I know i unintentionally disturbed her, but she should have said it nicely. She wasn’t even smiling the whole time i was there. If you are going to be at the embassy’s reception, do not reserve your smile just for foreign guests. In fact, you should be nicer to your fellow Filipinos.

Poor service I have been calling for weeks no one pick ups and tried emailing no response.

I came here to celebrate the around the world embassy day tour. More than 50 embassies in Washington DC, representing six continents, invited the public into their stately mansions and exclusive compounds to experience their country’s food, art, dance and music.
In the Phillippines embassy the ambiance was pretty festive. There were young kids dressed in national costumes available for photo opportunities. I tried on different tribal outfits from different regions. The performers showcased regional dances such as «tinikling» and visitors were encourage to try. The «singkil» the famous dance of maranao people of lake lanao is a crowd pleaser. To top it all, free native snack and cold calamansi juice for everyone.
I was proud I have the opportunity to introduce a non Filipino to my culture.

This place is a freakin joke. I called 3x in a span of 1 week, nobody ever picks up;
the voice prompt tells u to leave a voice message; did that 3x too and nobody calls back. I sent an email; no reply. Trying this many times to contact them must be so important right? Yeah. To them? Hell no! So I decided to fly all the way to DC from FL just to get here, and what do I see? A building that looks like a red brick house. It looks nothing like an embassy. If it weren’t for a flag outside, you wouldn’t be able to identify what this place is. They did not do much to make this building represent Philippines, including the interior. As for the customer service, turtle slow. They have a number system and around noon, they all go to lunch and not say anything to the people waiting. What happens if you leave & come back not realizing that they’re back from their break and started calling out numbers again? What if your number got called but you went out to eat lunch? What then? The consul was not apologetic about it at all. This is just one of the many reasons why I’m not proud to be a filipino.

It is saddening to say that the service is better in McDonalds or Wendy’s if you try to bring up a concern. Passport renewal date: 1−24−13 (Wife), 1−23−13 (Myself & my son). Got ours last month in the normal amount of time. Called 3−19−13 to get a status, all options during the calls go to a voicemail. Unbelievable! Called again today and was able to talk to the operator who stated“Just got a diplomatic bag containing passports and they are still sorting it out. If her passport is there, it will arrived this week” I am appalled with the kind of system in place wherein you can’t get a definite answer. It’s like spinning the wheel and if you are lucky yours will be there. Last time I checked, the office is in the U.S. where there is available technology and examples of procedure that can be adopted from neighboring embassies. Please note the location is called «Embassy Row» in Mass Ave, DC. She even mentioned that she has been overwhelmed with calls of the same nature. I advised her to tell her Supervisors and all she could muster was «They know but they don’t care»! There you go folks!!! It sums it up! Expensive fees, incompetent processing of docs, sub-​par service which is a total reflection of the person running the show (Consul Gen A. Penaranda). Advise to all nationals who have no choice but to conduct business in this office, bring a lot of patience and understanding that it will never improve to the standards we expect living in the U.S.
4−11−13:
Called on 4÷8÷13 to follow up on the status of my wife’s passport (note date of renewal 01÷24÷13) and the lady told me the person who has access to the other computer is in the Bahamas for an outreach program and will be back on 4÷11÷13. This office is UNBELIEVABLE! A person goes out of town and the customers, fellow Filipinos, suffer because this incompetent office/​employee does not have a back-​up to serve the needs of customers trying to get answers regarding this concern. If he was to be out for a number of days, then there should be someone who can do this simple system inquiry (that is if there is really a system in place) to satisfy all who are trying to find out what is going on with the passport and where exactly it is.
I hope Ken G of N.C. does not experience this type of delay much more the agony of following up to get a simple answer, where is my passport. Imagine if you are about to travel and have given them enough time to take care of this process but still it becomes a mind-​boggling experience/​headache then we are all totally screwed.

I don’t even know if they deserve a star. Imagine, I am trying to get hold of the SF office and with no avail, I called the Embassy. The SECRETARY of the CONSUL answered the phone call. I asked her about SPA’s… and she tells me to call SF because Seattle is under them. So I asked why is that? Does that mean that SF and Washington DC have different regulations regarding SPA’s? Then she tells me finally that she doesn’t know anything about it. WHAT THE? The Secretary of the Consul DOES NOT KNOW anything! Pretty depressing!

Came here for a young filipino’s networking event. The staffers were really very helpful, and informative. The location is great, and the building is standalone– parking can be a bit precarious.
The air con is fantastic! ;)
I do wish that this embassy had a bit more filipino ‘flavor’. As Miriam pointed out, there isnt a lot for you to know its the PI embassy, except that there’s a flag out front… But I’ve got nothing but love for my brothers and sisters here. :) I got to meet the ambassador!

Service sucks… I called around 10 am EST on a Monday, I was put on hold for 30 minutes only to be told that there are no people in the office and to call back after lunch!
Not courteous at all, not apologetic (like coming in on a Monday AFTER lunch is the most natural thing for employees) no answering machine to leave a message to and the woman who answered doesn’t know jack shit about the people in her office!!!
WTF???

Some countries use their foreign embassies to reflect their values. The Embassy of Finland with its natural light, open spaces intended for community gatherings and communal relationship with the woods that surround it is an excellent example.
Sadly, the Embassy of the Philippines with its generic four-​story beaux-​arts design appears to be little more than simply a diplomatic outpost. Were it not for the paintings by Filipino artists portraying Filipino people on display inside, I’d barely have known this place had anything at all to do with the Philippines.
And considering that construction on the Embassy did not being until 1991, I’m even more baffled as to why a greater effort wasn’t put into making this building a relevant cultural symbol.