DFA relaxes passport replacement requirements for applicants in Yolanda-hit areas
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has waived mandatory requirements for individuals in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda when applying for a passport replacement.
Those who were directly affected by the calamity need not present an affidavit of mutilation or loss of valid passport when applying for a replacement, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Wednesday.
Applicants are also not required to pay the penalty for the loss of a valid passport, Hernandez said, adding they only need to submit a simple written statement on the loss or mutilation of their passports and if possible, a barangay certification stating that they are victims of the typhoon.
“DFA offices nationwide have been instructed to implement these measures until January 31, 2014. Applications for replacement passports filed after that date shall be subject to normal procedures and requirement,” Hernandez said.
Operation of the DFA’s regional office in Tacloban has been suspended indefinitely following the devastation caused by Yolanda, a super typhoon by description that left over 4,000 people dead based on latest government data.
Unclaimed passports from Tacloban would be kept in the DFA’s main consular office in Manila, Hernandez said.
“Affected applicants who wish to claim their passports may do so at the Office of Consular Affairs at Macapagal Avenue [in Pasay City]. They may also get it from our other offices upon request,” he said.
Hernandez also reminded Tacloban passport applicants that some will be experiencing a delay in the releasing of their passports because a number of travel documents sustained water damage. — KBK, GMA News
Those who were directly affected by the calamity need not present an affidavit of mutilation or loss of valid passport when applying for a replacement, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Wednesday.
Applicants are also not required to pay the penalty for the loss of a valid passport, Hernandez said, adding they only need to submit a simple written statement on the loss or mutilation of their passports and if possible, a barangay certification stating that they are victims of the typhoon.
“DFA offices nationwide have been instructed to implement these measures until January 31, 2014. Applications for replacement passports filed after that date shall be subject to normal procedures and requirement,” Hernandez said.
Operation of the DFA’s regional office in Tacloban has been suspended indefinitely following the devastation caused by Yolanda, a super typhoon by description that left over 4,000 people dead based on latest government data.
Unclaimed passports from Tacloban would be kept in the DFA’s main consular office in Manila, Hernandez said.
“Affected applicants who wish to claim their passports may do so at the Office of Consular Affairs at Macapagal Avenue [in Pasay City]. They may also get it from our other offices upon request,” he said.
Hernandez also reminded Tacloban passport applicants that some will be experiencing a delay in the releasing of their passports because a number of travel documents sustained water damage. — KBK, GMA News
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