DFA closed on Nov 29; passport appointments rescheduled

The Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) Office of Consular Affairs will be closed on November 29 and will not be able to process passports and authenticated documents on that day. In an announcement posted on its website on Thursday, the DFA said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III declared November 29 a nonworking holiday to mark Bonifacio Day. "All passport applicants with scheduled appointments on the said date will be accommodated and processed on November 30 to December 3 (Tuesday to Friday), at the same time as indicated on the appointment," the DFA said. The DFA added that the Passport Releasing Area will be open to the public to accommodate applicants who are scheduled to claim their passports on November 29. As part of "holiday economics," Aquino had declared November 29, Monday, a nonworking public holiday to commemorate Bonifacio Day, which falls on November 23, Tuesday. The government's holiday economics policy began during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Arroyo usually issues proclamations moving the holiday to Friday if a holiday falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, or to Monday if a holiday falls on a Tuesday. Aquino, on the other hand, said he would move the celebration of some holidays on a case-by-case basis. – VVP, GMANews.TV