CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Consular Office in Cebu announced the opening of its Dumaguete City satellite office in the next few months to help decongest the volume of passport processing in Cebu.
This is in line with the department's plan to improve its system by the latter part of 2015 not only to accommodate the surging number of passport applications nationwide but also to ease the processing done in other consular offices abroad.
In an interview with DFA-Cebu director Anika Apalisok-Fernandez, she said that the agency is now taking initiatives to provide convenience to people who have transactions at DFA-Cebu office adding that complaints of delays is caused by the increasing number of transactions daily.
Fernandez said in the last five years, the DFA has seen a "phenomenal surge" in passport applications from 11,000-14,000 applications globally per day, it has now reached a maximum threshold of 18,000 global applications daily.
In DFA Cebu, she said passport applications have reached approximately 600-700 a day, where it used to accommodate only an average of 400-500 daily.
Add to that, the Philippines only has one printing machine for passports processed here and in other parts of the world.
When applying for a passport, DFA Cebu only issues the priority number as early as 7 am and never earlier than the said time.
She said the agency is also pushing for the online appointment system.
"We strongly discourage people to line up as early as 2 am just to get a priority number," she said.
"We are getting a new system by 2015, including the implementation of global appointment system," said Fernandez.
"Currently, we are dealing with a five-year old system that can no longer cope with the voluminous passport applications thus contributing to the delay of its releasing," Fernandez said, adding that the delay also coincided with the seasonal increase in passport applications as Filipinos start making preparations to travel abroad this summer.
She said the delay in passport releases is primarily the result of maintenance work and upgrades on equipment in the ePassport Personalization Center at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas facility in Quezon City.
At present, applicants have to wait an additional one week before their passports could be released.
She assured though that DFA has been working closely with the BSP to resolve the issue and it is confident that it would be able to reduce the waiting period in the coming weeks.
Fernandez also advised existing passport holders to renew their passports, ideally, a year before it expires. "Before you make any international travel plans, make sure that you have renewed it already and not wait for it to expire and then apply for its renewal, as what it is commonly happening," she said.
Passport application fees are at P950 with a 25 working day processing and P1,200 for a 15-day expedite processing. (FREEMAN)