The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday advised the public of the temporary unscheduled downtime of its Passport Online Appointment System due to equipment failure of the system’s main power provider.
 
In an advisory, the DFA said APO Production Unit Inc. (APO) — the service provider for the online appointment system — had received reports that users in the country and abroad experienced downtime while accessing the website. The company committed to restoring the system within the day.
 
The DFA said applicants who have booked appointments and/or have already paid for their appointments may also experience delays in their receipt of payment reference emails or confirmation emails.

Those who have completed their online applications and those who have successfully paid, meanwhile, are advised to wait at least 48 hours to receive the respective emails and to check their spam folders aside from their regular email inbox.
 
“The DFA appreciates the continued cooperation and understanding of the public as we work on resolving issues in the appointment system,” it added.

Passport applicants with concerns are advised to reach out to the DFA through their email address: oca.concerns@dfa.gov.ph. — Sundy Locus/VBL, GMA News