Commotion as applicants swarm ‘Passport on Wheels’ in Manila

Commotion broke out at the Manila City Hall on Thursday as a large number of people trooped to the area to avail of the the Department of Foreign Affairs' "Passport on Wheels."

According to a report by GMA News' Susan Enriquez on 24 Oras, most of those who went to the Manila City Hall came from various provinces. They complained that the setup lacked system.

"Pagdating po namin dito, parang hindi coordinated sa city hall. 'Yun po 'yung pinoproblema namin kaya hanggang ngayon, nandito pa rin po kami. Imaginin niyo po, merong 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, may mga bata, may mga nag-absent... until now 'di pa rin kami nabigyan ng solusyon," said Zarina Dalino, an applicant.

"Kami kanina pa nila niloloko, punta rito, pila doon, umulan at umaraw inabot na po kami. Ni wala kaming kasiguraduhan. Walang bumababa sa kanila," added one Napoleon Alvarez.

Due to this, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Frank Cimafranca rushed to the area to address the concerns of the public.

"Nung nakita ko, nagulat ako. Bakit ganito 'to? Hindi naman ganito 'yung mobile namin. It is not done this way," he said.

He vowed to accommodate all the applications of those who went at the Manila City Hall. "We will, as much as possible, we will try to accommodate everyone."

The report said the management of the city hall had conducted a pre-registration from January 5 to 10 for those who wanted to avail the services.

A total of 1,035 individuals registered, but they noted that there were also walk-in applicants who arrived on the day of the service.

"January 5 to 10, nakapagpre-register po kami ng 1,035 participants, dito po talaga sa City of Manila. Well, may iba naman na di taga-Manila pero since pinasok ito, dito sa lungsod ng Maynila, ang napriority po ay taga-Manila," said Attorney Joel Chua, secretary to the Vice Mayor.

The DFA is eyeing to have a new schedule for "Passport on Wheels" in Manila after seeing the large number of people want to avail of its services.

The system was introduced on January 15 to help alleviate difficulties in obtaining slots for passport appointments. A vehicle is expected to process over 500 applicants daily without need for appointments. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News