Faster passport processing for OFWs sought

Despite the government’s new state-of-the-art passport services facility, the recruitment sector is seeking a special lane for faster passport processing for vacationing overseas Filipino workers. Recruitment industry consultant Emmanuel Geslani said even with improvements in the issuance of the new electronic passport (ePassport), applicants renewing their passports still have to endure long lines and a longer processing time. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) transferred on March 8 its Office of Consular Affairs to its new multimillion-peso facility, equipped with the latest in information and communications technology. The 7,000-square meter, four-storey facility along Macapagal Boulevard in Parañaque City houses the ePassport facility, the electronic authentication system, the electronic visa system and the digitalized consular records system. Geslani, however, said the long lines for walk-in applicants and an extended passport processing time will adversely affect the departure of overseas Filipino Workers who have to return to the their jobsites. Regular passport processing time went from 15 days to 20 days following the DFA’s implementation of the machine-readable ePassport. The application fee also went up from P500 to P950. “Even those willing to pay P 1200 for express service still have to wait 10 working days to get their passports when before, it only took 7 days to process the passport, and even shorter for those with connections inside the DFA," Geslani said in a statement. He said hundreds of walk-in applicants line up daily outside the new facility, while the few who were able to set up an appointment via the DFA’s Web site would also have to wait for their name s to be located on the appointment schedule “(It’s) double cost and double processing time for passports," he added. Geslani thus called for the creation of a special lane for OFWs, especially as most of them are only on vacation and will have to return to their jobsites in just a few weeks. “Our OFWs who are renewing their passports should be given a special lane as some of them are only on vacation or emergency leave, and they have only a few days in Manila to do get the necessary clearances and certificates, on top of renewing their passports," he said. Geslani likewise explained some OFWs could not renew their passports at their jobsites, such as in Saudi Arabia, where Philippine diplomatic posts are kilometers away. Some consulates in some countries are also closed during weekends OFWs usually have their days off from work, he said. - Jerrie Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV