DFA hopes to improve passport application system before year ends

Published June 28, 2012 4:30pm

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said it hopes to improve the country's passport application system by establishing a dedicated call center for passport applications before the year ends. In a news release, DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said the DFA Office of Consular Affairs has until December 31 to establish a call center so that passport applicants can choose the date and time they wish to be accommodated in any DFA consular office nationwide.

"This appointment system and other measures that the DFA has been taking during the past several months will significantly reduce if not eliminate the long lines that have been associated with the passport application process," Del Rosario said.

As the DFA marks its 114th founding anniversary this year, Del Rosario said "we are making a promise to the Filipino people and that promise is to make it easier for them to apply for their passports."

Despite the improvements that the DFA will undertake, it assured the public that passport processing fees will not change.

Passport fees currently stand at P950 for regular processing and P1,200 for expedited processing.

Consular offices in malls

Del Rosario said the proposed appointment system will complement the ongoing transfer of DFA consular offices to shopping malls nationwide under public-private partnership arrangements.

The PPP arrangements are expected to save the government some P1.04 billion in operating and other costs in the next 10 years.

"These arrangements with our mall partners will not only involve a total makeover of our consular facilities but will also allow us to offer improved services in settings that offer comfort and convenience to the applying public," Del Rosario said.

Other guidelines

Under the new guidelines, Del Rosario said the DFA is expected to open by yearend the first 13 consular offices in Metro Manila and other key cities.

It is also expected to have concluded negotiations for similar arrangements for the hosting of consular offices in other parts of the country, he said.

The new guidelines also require all DFA mall-based offices to operate beyond regular office hours from Mondays to Saturdays so they can accommodate applicants who could not afford to be absent from work or school.

Such offices will also be open for three hours on Sundays to allow applicants to claim their passports. - VVP, GMA News

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