French embassy stays open on Dec. 31, other embassies close

On the last day of 2010 — a special non-working day in the Philippines — the French Embassy in Manila will be open for five hours. "The Embassy of France in Manila will be open on Friday, December 31, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.," the Embassy said in its website Wednesday. In contrast, the United States’ Embassy announced Wednesday afternoon it will be closed on the eve of New Year’s, and will resume normal activities on Monday, January 3. "The U.S. Embassy will be closed on Friday, December 31, 2010. Regular office will resume on Monday, January 3, 2011," it said in its Facebook site. Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said its Office of Consular Affairs will be closed for passport processing and document authentication on Dec. 31. Last Dec. 12, Malacañang released the list of holidays from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. It said Friday, December 31 is a special nonworking day. Other Australian and Canadian embassies will also be closed on December 31 and open on January 3. The Japanese embassy will also be closed, and will be open on January 4. Links to the websites of other embassies in the Philippines can be found here. — DM/KBK, GMANews.TV