DFA: Passport appointment available within two weeks to a month starting October


By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News
An appointment for passport processing will now be available within two weeks to one month at most from the previous timeline of two to three months, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Friday.
In a statement, the DFA said such significant reduction of waiting time was due to the DFA's implementation of electronic payment system for passport application and the opening of 10,000 passport appointment slots at 12 noon and 9 pm from Monday to Saturday, except holidays.
“From the 9,500 passports that were being processed daily in May last year, we have increased our capacity to almost 20,000 passports a day.  We endeavor to increase this number to 30,000 by the end of the year,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Likewise, the increased number of passports processed on a daily basis will also reduce the number of days of passport processing starting October 1.
Starting next month, those who paid a regular processing fee of P590 would be able to secure their passports after 12 instead of 15 working days. Those who paid the express processing fee of P1,200, on the other hand, will receive their passports within six instead of seven working days.
“We made a promise to President [Rodrigo Duterte] and to our kababayan that we will work hard to give them fast, efficient, and secure passport services. Shortening the length of time our kababayan would have to wait before they could receive their passports is part of that promise,” Cayetano said.
He also disclosed that applicants in DFA Consular Offices outside Metro Manila can receive their passports after 12 working days instead of 20 for regular processing, while those of expedited processing will be able to get their new passport within seven instead of 10 working days
The DFA, however, is still working on reducing the waiting time for passport applications filed at Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world which takes as much as two months.
“Providing better passport services is at the heart of our work at the DFA,” Cayetano said. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News

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