DFA scrambles to solve ePassport woes

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has been scrambling to solve seemingly unending woes with its electronic passport (ePassport) project, following complaints from several groups on the longer waiting time for appointments and the higher fees for its passport services. This time, the DFA claims it has “quashed" attempts to sabotage the online appointment system supposedly by “online fixers." “A number of individuals and groups hoping to earn money by victimizing passport applicants have been making multiple appointments online and thus, creating an artificial demand for appointments," it said in a release posted on its website. Assistant Secretary Jaime Victor Ledda said the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) has identified these “online fixers," and a technical solution was used to address the problem. "There have been serious attempts to sabotage the system but we have overcome it," Ledda said in the release. He noted that for the past weeks, non-appearance among those who have set appointments online jumped to 40 percent. It was not clear what kind of solution the department employed. He added they are also cracking down on fixers who approach passport applicants outside the OCA building at the ASEANA Business Park in Parañaque, in cooperation with the police and the National Bureau of Investigation. The reported problem with online fixers arose after recruitment agencies scored the department for failing to rid its passport offices of fixers who allegedly charge as much as P10,000 just for an appointment. (See: Passport fixers still roam DFA’s high-tech facility) The DFA likewise came under criticism after the waiting time for setting up an appointment went up to as many 20 working days. (See: DFA scored for ‘delay’ in release of ePassports) In the same release, however, the DFA said the earliest appointment for applicants who are not overseas Filipino workers (OFW) is now down to less than a month Ledda said non-OFW applicants who were previously given appointments for September have the option to request for an earlier appointment. He explained that the reduced waiting time is due to the increase in the passport production capability of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on a daily basis, to between 10,000 and 12,000. When the ePassport project started in 2009, only 3,000 passports were produced daily, he said. "We have been provided the necessary personnel required in the operation of equipment and we have trained enough personnel over the past months. We have also gotten the additional equipment needed," Ledda explained. He added the DFA and the BSP are targeting to process and issue 15,000 passports a day once the ePassport project is fully implemented worldwide. No appointments needed for OFWs In a separate release, the DFA reiterated that OFWs applying for passports for the first time or for renewal need not secure an appointment. “Except Sundays and public holidays, OFWs' passport applications are processed immediately and on a daily basis," it said in another release. OFWs may submit their documents to the following DFA offices:

1. OCA building located at the ASEANA Business Park;
2. DFA-Philippine Overseas Employment Agency Passport Extension Office (DFA-POEA) in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong City;
3. DFA's 19 Regional Consular Offices and 26 Foreign Service Posts; and
4. DFA mobile passport conducted nationwide.

Applications by OFWs will be processed provided they have copies of their Contract of Employment (for new OFWs), Overseas Employment Certificate issued by the POEA (for visiting OFWs), or a valid working visa as proof of their status. Passport services at the DFA-POEA, located at the ground floor of the POEA Building, however, will still be provided on a first-come-first-served basis. Earlier, recruitment agencies sought the creation of a special lane for the processing of passports for OFWs. (See: Faster passport processing for OFWs sought) While passport processing remains free of charge, basic passport fee is now P950 for regular processing — the cheapest in Asia and the rest of the world, according to the DFA. Abroad, Philippine Embassies and Consulates General charge a uniform passport fee of US$60 (about P2,780) — an increase from the previous $50 (about P2,320) uniform fee. Hike in passport fees In yet another release, the department said the US$60-fee for passport applicants overseas is cheaper compared to those being charged by other countries using the ePassport system. The OCA said Philippine ePassports are priced lower compared to Malaysia (approximately US$88), Turkey (approximately US$150), United States (US$97), and Japan (approximately US$182). Meanwhile, the uniform US$50 passport fee for Philippine machine-readable passports (MRPs) issued abroad is also cheaper than the cost of MRPs in other countries, according to the OCA. In Bangladesh, for instance, the cost of MRPs ranges from US$115 to US$165. Pakistan charges as high as US$120 for urgent passport applications. The Philippines has not increased its passport fees overseas since 1992, the OCA added. Filipinos in Riyadh and Hong Kong had earlier complained of the 20-percent increase in overseas passport application fee. Majority of the Philippines’ overseas posts are still issuing MRPs which are acceptable until 2015, but the OCA said at least 27 Philippine Embassies and Consulates General are already issuing, or in the process of pilot-testing, ePassports.—JV, GMANews.TV