The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on the prodding of Sen. Frank Drilon, agreed to speed up the closure of at least 12 Philippine embassies and consulates and save P100 million that could augment the foreign office’s inadequate budget for the concerns of overseas Filipinos.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, in an interview after a budget hearing at the Senate on Tuesday, confirmed that the DFA would be closing “a combination of embassies, consulates and missions” but declined to identify those likely to be shuttered owing to budgetary constraints.

Del Rosario said the criteria being drawn up to determine which to shut down include the level of trade, tourism potential and the number of Filipinos served by a foreign post.

Drilon told reporters later that del Rosario said at the hearing the first six embassies would be closed. “I asked them [DFA officials] to finish this before the end of 2012, although they are asking that this be done in 2013. I see no reason for extending it beyond 2012.”

“Secretary del Rosario, in his assessment, said, ‘These are the top 12 which we can close without affecting our bilateral relationship with the country where they are posted and that we can use the funds for these posts to augment the funds of posts where we have a good number’ of Filipinos,” Drilon said.

 “We have no wish list.” He told a press briefing later.  “Ang DFA ang siyang magdedesisyon kung aling mga embahada ang isasara dahil maraming political implications ito, may mga bilateral issues. At the end of the day, our national interest should be the prime consideration. No foreign policy is altruistic in character. Foreign policies should always be for the benefit of the nation promulgating the foreign policy. In this particular case, it is to our national interest that we rationalize our presence abroad because of our situation, economically, and the need for consular services to overseas Filipino workers.”

Drilon said if there is virtually no trade activity in a particular foreign posting for the last five years, that would likely put the station on the list.

“If trade is almost zero, how can we rationalize? Walang Pilipino, walang negosyo na nakikita, walang political value. To me, you look at the mandate of the DFA, you look at assistance to Filipino nationals, you look at economy in terms of trade, and you look at the political value of our presence there,” he said.

In Southeast Asia, for instance, Drilon said, “whether or not we have Filipinos in Asean countries, whether or not we have trade with Asean countries, because we have the Asean Treaty, we belong to the association, so we have to be present there. These are the factors, to me, that the DFA will consider in maintaining our presence abroad,” he said.

The DFA was given a budget of P10.988 billion for 2012.

“We found it reasonable. But then, we found it inadequate to respond to the needs of our OFWs. Sa aming tingin kulang ang budget ng DFA para pangalagaan ang milyun-milyong manggagawa sa ibayong dagat,” Drilon said.

He said this was what prompted him to ask the DFA to “rationalize” the Philippine stations abroad, which consists of 67 embassies, 23 consulates and four missions to international organizations. He said Singapore, for instance, is present in only 23 countries.

“We are present in 67 countries and 23 consulates. We have even a consulate in Vladivostok, I do not know what we are doing in Vladivostok, Russia. We spend about P2.4 million in Vladivostok,” he said.

But Drilon also made it clear that the intention of the Senate Finance Committee is not the retrenchment of DFA personnel abroad.

“Ang aming intensyon ay palakasin at lagyan ng pondo ang ating mga embahada kung saan marami tayong mga manggagawang Pilipino,” he said.