MANILA – People with no urgent need for consular services are advised to defer visits to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) offices in Metro Manila.
In an advisory on Saturday, the DFA said all its consular offices (CO) in Metro Manila 'will be temporarily operating with a skeletal workforce and provide consular services only to individuals with urgent needs, such as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and those with medical cases, from 16 March 2020 until 14 April 2020'.
The DFA CO in NCR-Central (Robinson’s Galleria) will operate Mondays to Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. while all the other COs in Metro Manila will operate Mondays to Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On the other hand, the DFA Office of Consular Affairs in ASEANA Business Park will operate Mondays to Fridays, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The DFA announced there will be no Saturday operations nationwide beginning March 21 until further notice.
MANILA, Philippines - Good news, travelers! The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, January 23, announced that it opened 100,000 new passport appointment slots for February to May 2018. The news follows after the public clamor on difficulty of securing a schedule in the DFA's online passport appointment system. Applicants may schedule an appointment through the DFA website. The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait informs the public that Round 3 of the Online Appointment Priority System for passport applications and renewals will be open for 132 straight hours, from 12:00 P.M. On 25 September 2020 (Friday) to 11:59 P.M. On 30 September 2020 (Wednesday).
'Passport applicants with confirmed appointments from 9 March 2020, and who were not able to show up during their appointment due to COVID-19 concerns and the community quarantine, will be accommodated from 15 April until 29 May 2020, during regular office hours, except on Saturdays,' the agency said.
Likewise, those seeking Authentication and Civil Registration services are also advised to avail of these services after the same period.
Applicants with questions or emergencies may get in touch with the DFA Consular Office where their appointment was scheduled, email at oca.concerns@dfa.gov.ph or call 8651 9400. (PNA)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) — Amid outrage over passport appointment schedules, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano denied there is a syndicate in cahoots with its employees.
'Kanina may nagtanong about the sindikato, we are not the NBI, nor are we the CIDG, but we're are not stupid. Alam namin if there's fertile ground for sindikato,' he said in a media briefing after DFA launched the 10-year validity of passports.
[Translation: On the syndicates, we are not the National Bureau of Investigation nor are we the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, but we are not stupid. We'll know if there is a fertile ground for a syndicate to breed.]
He added, although there are no syndicates, it does not mean there are no fixers.
'Ihiwalay natin ang manloloko, fixer, sindikato. Ang sindikato ay may fixers at manloloko. Pwedeng may manloloko at fixer pero walang sindikato,' he said.
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[Translation: Separate the syndicates from fixers. There are fixers in syndicates. There can be fixers but no syndicates.]
Earlier this week, enraged netizens called on the Department DFA to fix its system after their website showed the schedule to get a passport is full until March. Some alleged that 'syndicates' who hoard passport appointment schedules to sell at sky-high prices are behind the DFA fiasco.
Dfa Passport Schedule
READ: Filipino travelers call out DFA for fully-booked passport appointment schedule
Some travelers also said travel agencies are selling appointment schedules for as high as P7,000.
Cayetano said it's impossible for travel agencies to sell appointment slots because DFA has barred them from getting slots in September to 'remove the opportunity for a creation of a syndicate.'
'Wala pong ibebenta na slots ang travel agency dahil tinanggal na namin ng ilang buwan na yung 1,200 a day,' he said.
Cayetano added they have removed 50,000 bogus passport appointments last year.
'We are removing the possibility of a syndicated panloloko. It does not erase the fact na may nanloloko pa rin at may nakakalusot,' he said.
He added they have not received any formal complaints, but the National Bureau of Investigation has been looking into the allegations.
Cayetano reminded the public setting an appointment for passport should be free of charge.
'Huwag kayo magbayad. Wala dapat bayad ang appointment,' he said.
More passport slots
Cayetano acknowledged there are existing challenges in the passport application and renewal processing, especially in securing an appointment online.
To be able to accommodate applicants while ensuring the security of the website, they only open slots every three months. The next opening of of appointment schedules is in April.
But due to the volume of demand, Cayetano said they are opening more slots for February and March.
'We only open three months at a time kasi iniisa-isa namin kung tunay yung pangalan. Only 70% na naglalagay ng pangalan ang dumadating. Yung 30% for one reason or the other- or whether naglagay tapos binebenta ang slot, hindi dumadating,' he said.
Dfa Appointment Online
The Foreign Affairs Chief also said they are opening nine new consular officers this year, mostly in the regions, to address the increased demand. They are also looking to build up their Aseana branch in Pasay to increase its capacity from 1,900 to 3,300 passport appointments daily.
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DFA has also deployed four Passporting on Wheels (POW) vehicles to decongest the consular offices in Metro Manila. Each POW has the capacity to process over 500 applicants daily, creating a total of 2,000 additional daily slots upon its launch.