DFA vows to address difficulties in securing passport application slots

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said it is addressing reported difficulties in securing passport processing slots online as it braces for a surge in applications during the Christmas season.

Henry Bensurto, DFA Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, said that the department is doing its best to open more slots, including considering putting up more satellite application offices around the country once it gets legislative approval of its additional budget request.

“Obviously, to address this matter, there are other possibilities that we can do, such as the possibility of having more offsite and this is very much in the equation obviously because this includes budgetary support from Congress,” Bensurto told a press briefing.

On a daily basis, the DFA's main consular office in Aseana, Paranaque City can only accommodate 1,000 passport applications and 1,400 authentication applications booked through its online appointment systems. It also accepts only 300 walk-in applicants for the Passport Courtesy Lane and 300 walk-in applicants for Authentication/Apostille services.

To accommodate more applicants, the DFA last year opened offsite passport processing offices in several malls across Metro Manila and in the provinces, leading to the opening of more appointment slots that can be booked online.

Bensurto also said the DFA is also looking into opening consular officers in the provinces as part of the agency's medium and long-term plan.

Lack of passport schedule slots resulting in long waiting time for applicants, according to Bensurto, is a “confluence of multiple factors.”

“As soon as we are able to identify exactly with precision what those factors are that contribute to the long line then we have an idea on how to address it no longer in an abstract way,” he said.

One of the issues slowing down passport processing is any error on an applicant’s data, which Bensurto hopes to address next month by allowing the system to make corrections on the spot based on the documents that are presented.

“The process of making that change in the system will take a little time, but we're fast-tracking that. My hope is that on the first or second week of September this aspect of the system will already be corrected,” he said.

"We continue to assess the long-term strategy on how to simplify this and continue to do that with an end view that we can make that process more efficient as it impacts...the matter of appointments."

The DFA issues a staggering 20,000 passports daily here and in its diplomatic posts abroad, but that huge demand still balloons to 25,000 per day during the peak travel seasons like the Christmas season and the summer holidays. — BM, GMA News