MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – There’s no stopping Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte from pursuing his ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. His next project: convert the U.S. Embassy along Roxas Boulevard in Manila into a Mega Mall.
Duterte unveiled his plan after receiving reports that the Trump administration is planning to close all the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices worldwide.
In a statement issued by Malacañang, the President said that closing the U.S. Immigration office in Manila makes the U.S. Embassy useless. One of the Embassy’s most popular service is the processing of tourist and immigrant visas, as well as immigrant petitions filed by U.S. Filipinos on behalf of relatives still living in the Philippines.
Duterte said he’d like to convert the sprawling U.S. Embassy compound into a Mall Of Asia II, saying that it will employ thousands of Filipinos and attract a lot of tourists from China and Russia. “It’s a win-win situation,” the popular President said.
