Philippine consuls will meet in December to discuss how to assist Filipinos illegally staying in the United States, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Monday.

This comes after US President-elect Donald Trump announced that his incoming administration will prioritize dealing with the issue of illegal immigrants and strengthening their nation’s borders.

In an interview with dzBB, Romualdez said there are 4.3 million Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who are legally staying in the US, while there are around 200,000 to 300,000 who are listed for deportation.

“Now, we are just waiting for orders in Manila on how we can help them once this new policy of the Trump administration takes effect,” Romualdez said, citing they will ask for directions from the Department of Migrant Workers and the Malacanang Palace.

“In December, we will have what we call a planning session. That’s one of our top priorities. All of our consulates here in America, starting from Guam to Honolulu, to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and New York, will meet here in Washington and we will talk about how to do that,” he added.

Romualdez reiterated his advice to Filipinos illegally staying in the US that if they could not find a way to legalize their residence, it would be better to come home to prevent them from getting deported.

“I need to clarify, some Filipinos come here legally then their status becomes illegal because their visa has expired. Sometimes, they are being treated like slaves because their employers threaten since they are working just to be able to eat and sleep,” Romualdez said.

"Definitely, we will rescue them,” he said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS