Where credit is due

Renewing one’s passport is not a pleasant chore, but it has to be done. Especially now that travel has become very affordable not only here, but also abroad. Many are willing to queue up patiently to get a passport. For first timers, the requirements are tedious and many, and this includes the birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, both authenticated by the National Statistics Office plus all the clearances needed. Those merely renewing their passports have it easier, but like everyone else, they still have to renew. Similar to getting one’s driver’s license at the Land Transportation Office (LTO), getting one’s passport is one of the greatest levellers because one has to personally go for these documents and no matter who you are or how rich and powerful you are, you have to be personally present because these documents need your photo taken on the spot. You can’t send your driver or man Friday, and you have to line up like everyone else.

With the new 10-year validity of passports effective this year, more people are eager to renew their passports, even those who do not yet need to. And why not, indeed, if one does not have to go through the chore for another 10 years? With this welcome development, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) found themselves with a problem they were not prepared for. Getting people to make appointments on line was an improvement in the system that DFA adopted some years back, but as early as December 2017, it was already getting difficult to get an appointment. By January, it was close to impossible to get one, and senior citizens have been told that they could not be given appointments, they simply had to go to any DFA office and get in line specially dedicated for senior citizens. By February, it was already impossible to get an appointment and the DFA had to issue a plea to those whose passports are not yet expiring within 10 months to please postpone their renewals until the agency can cope with the deluge of passport applicants.

My wife’s passport is expiring in August, so if we are scheduling any foreign travels this year, she should renew hers because of the six-month passport validity provision by foreign countries. From others, she learned that going to any DFA satellite office was infinitely better than going to the main DFA in Parañaque where one waits shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of people from all walks of life. This was her experience five years ago, so she dreaded going through the experience again, but she had no choice. She opted to go to the Metro Mall in Alabang which she heard was new and not as busy. This was a good decision on her part because the experience turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The DFA is located at the fourth floor of the mall. She was on the ground floor at exactly 10:00 a.m. Before even getting to the escalator, one already had to line up, so she knew this was going to be a bad day. Upon reaching the third floor, she couldn’t go up to the fourth floor any more – security personnel deployed by the DFA stopped everyone and started issuing numbered cards to those present. They were instructed to come back before 2:00 p.m. bearing their numbers. Apparently, those who were not issued numbers were not going to be allowed to go up to the fourth floor that day, so she was one of the lucky ones.

After taking a quick lunch and browsing around the mall, she decided to go back earlier than the required time. She was back by 1:00 p.m., showed her number, and was allowed to go up the 4th floor. When she got there, she was surprised to find the whole area was already filled, with people seated quietly, even as more people were still trickling up the escalator to find their place. There was really no distinction for senior citizens who had no appointments, unlike many others who did. A dispatcher would come every 30 minutes or so and signal one or two rows of people to follow him to the processing area. Actually, it was all rather orderly and systematic, but the ordeal of waiting for hours in a hot room (it was fully air-conditioned, but filled with warm bodies) was telling on everyone’s patience, according to my wife Babes. The Department of Foreign Affairs had adopted a very effective system of dealing with the deluge of passport seekers. From the large crowd, only one frustrated lady blew her top scandalously at the staff, Babes said, while everyone else patiently waited for his turn. From the waiting area to the processing area, it was like witnessing one big Trip- to- Jerusalem game, with everyone sliding to the next vacant chair every five minutes or so. The flow of traffic was very smooth, the DFA staff manning the counters – down to the security personnel herding and controlling the crowd very polite and quietly efficient. Babes said that at first she couldn’t see how they could accommodate the large crowd gathered there, but a security personnel assured her that everyone issued a number would be processed within the day. That meant the office hours would be extended beyond 5:00 p.m. that day. To cut to the chase, she finished around 5:00 p.m. or so, but still with long lines behind her. No matter, all those waiting were going to be accommodated for the day.

I am writing this to commend the DFA satellite office at the Metro Mall in Filinvest, Alabang for the efficient and systematic handling of the big crowd of passport seekers that busy Friday. The staff must have been terribly harassed by the sheer volume of paper work and people, but they were pleasant and quietly efficient. Kudos!! They made an otherwise very unpleasant chore bearable, and most everyone there grinned and bore it because of their efficient system.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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