Cayetano says travel firms can't have their passport appointment slots back


By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday thumbed down the request of travel agencies to return to them the 1,200 daily slots for passport appointment.
"I'm sorry, we cannot do that because, by law, nakalagay po kung sino ang ipa-prioritize namin," Cayetano said during the launch of the passport appointment portal for first-time OFWs at the DFA Aseana Consular Office in Parañaque City.
"Kasi kung bibigyan natin ng slots ang travel agencies, ang mangyayari, kung mas madaling kumuha sa kanila, para bang kailangan mong bumili ng ticket. Paano kung online mo gustong bumili ng ticket?" he added.
The DFA has come under fire from passport applicants because of difficulties in getting appointment through its online facilities. Its Facebook page has been flooded with complaints from people unable to get appointments earlier than March.
Cayetano had earlier denied that travel agencies are in cahoots with erring DFA personnel in the reported selling of passport appointment slots. On Friday, he said these reports are not the reason why they could not give the allotted slots back to the agencies.
"We never said it's the fault of the travel agencies, nagtatrabaho lang sila," he said.
He added, "Pasensya na po kayo, pero kung kayo ang bibigyan ng allotment, maraming manghihingi ng allotment, babalik na naman tayo sa dati na maraming manghihingi ng exceptions, napakaraming bintang na dito may bayad, dito wala, etc."
An alternative offer the DFA can make to travel agencies is to send its passport application and processing services to their offices during their travel or "piso" fairs to expedite the passport application of their clients.
"Give us a list of your travel fairs, and kahit a day before and during the travel fairs, maglalagay kami ng mga makina dun, maglalagay kami ng passport on wheel," Cayetano said. "At least, walang obligasyon y'ung kumukuha ng passport na bumili ng ticket o gumamit ng serbisyo."
He added that the DFA has a lot to do to make the passport application process smoother for Filipinos without compromising their security or exposing them to identity theft, human trafficking, and terrorism.
"Trabaho kasi nung officers ng DFA na siguraduhin na Pilipino ka talaga at ikaw talaga 'yung kumukuha ng passport," Cayetano said. "We should make no excuses and point to no one but ourselves to make this process easier." —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more