Delays in passport release likely caused by transition to new system –DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is doing everything it can to fast-track the transition to an “up-to-date” passport system even as it admitted the possibility of delays in the releasing of passports as a result of the said transition.

"If there are any delays being experienced, it's more due to the transition to an up-to-date passport system that we're undertaking," said DFA spokesman Charles Jose in a  text message to GMA News Online.

He added that in “any transition from one system to another, there will always be problems that we cannot avoid but can only try to minimize.”

He said the transition, which started February 23, “is still ongoing but we're trying to complete as soon as possible.”

A temporary schedule was adopted by the DFA for releasing passports in light of the transition.

DFA Aseana or the Office of Consular Affairs and satellite offices at malls will need 20 days for regular processing and 10 working days for express processing.

Meanwhile, regional consular offices will take 30 working days for regular processing and 20 days for applicants "with approved POEA job orders, job orders approved by labor attaches that are acknowledged by consular officers, or existing work visas."

"The DFA assures the public that normal passport releasing schedules will be restored upon the end of the transition period to an improved passport system with enhanced security features that will facilitate every Filipino’s travelling experience and safety," the DFA said in an earlier advisory. —KBK, GMA News