Passport services now going ‘smoothly’—DFA

Following criticism of supposed delays in the processing of electronic passports, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said its passport operations are now going “smoothly" after it reopened its extension office in Mandaluyong City. The DFA reopened its Passport Extension Office (PEO) at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) building on June 22, in a bid to pacify complaints that it now takes as long as two months to just set an appointment. (See: DFA scored for ‘delay’ in release of ePassports) “Since re-opening the PEO… passport operations are proceeding smoothly and more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are flocking to the new facility," the DFA said in a release posted on its website. The DFA explained that services at the PEO are on a first-come-first-served basis, compared to the appointment system followed at its multimillion-peso facility at the ASEANA Business Park in Parañaque City. Passport operations in the PEO at this time can sustain the daily number of OFWs and their immediate family members who are filing their applications simultaneously, the DFA added. “A daily quota is also in effect to ensure that only eligible OFWs and their immediate family members are prioritized and to discourage non-OFWs who are ineligible," the release stated. Non-OFWs are still required to file their application at the DFA’s main consular building after getting an appointment. The quota will likewise be subjected to a regular assessment to “accurately reflect the public's shifting needs." In case the daily quota in the PEO is reached, the DFA assured applicants that on-the-spot appointments will be provided in the succeeding days. Qualified applicants, including OFWs, may likewise be provided shortened passport processing and releasing time in cases of emergency, after an evaluation by the Office of the Passport Director, which can be reached through its hotline 836-7759. New OFWs are thus advised to bring a copy of their Contract of Employment, or Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) issued by the POEA to visiting OFWs, or a valid working visa as proof of their status. In the same release, the Office of Consular Affairs said it is exerting efforts to eliminate fixers, earlier reported to be still roaming the DFA’s offices and offering expedited passport processing in exchange for as much as P10,000. Illegal activities may directly be reported to the Passport Director, the DFA said. Recruitment agencies have earlier scored the DFA for failing to curb illegal activities despite modernizing the department’s passport services, now housed in the new facility acquired for a price of P530 million with assistance from the Development Bank of the Philippines. (See: Passport fixers still roam DFA’s high-tech facility) —Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV