The United States Embassy in Manila announced that its social media platforms will not be updated with the federal government’s partial shutdown, although it assured that the passport and visa services will continue.

This announcement was made in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by the embassy.

“Because of the lapse in appropriations, the U.S. Embassy's Facebook, X, and Instagram accounts will not be updated regularly until full operations resume, with the exception of urgent safety and security information,” the post read.

However, it also assured that passport and visa services will be unhampered despite the lack of funding.

“At this time, scheduled passport and visa services in the United States and at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas will continue during the lapse in appropriations as the situation permits,” the embassy said.

The federal government's partial shutdown entered its third day on Friday, Oct. 3, after the US Congress failed to reach a funding deal, with only essential services continuing.

This also affected the publication of the Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report 205, wherein the Philippines remained at Tier 1 for fully meeting “the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

“The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore, the Philippines remained on Tier 1,” the summary of the report said.

The full access to the report, however, is restricted because of the lack of appropriations to update the state government’s website.

“Federal government shutdown: Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume,” the notice on the website said.