In a bid to make more appointment slots for passport applications available to the public, travel agencies are no longer entitled to fixed appointment slots at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for their clients’ passport application and renewal.
This follows the removal of 1,200 slots reserved daily for travel agencies, which were converted into additional slots for regular applicants. The policy was put in place on August 1, 2017.
According to Ricarte B. Abejuela III, Acting Director of the Passport Division of the Office of Consular Affairs, with the DFA’s new policy, clients of travel agencies should undergo the same process all other applicants undergo when applying for or renewing a passport.
“We want to give back the appointment slots to the Filipino public,” Abejuela said.
According to Abejuela, travel agencies are not the only ones who need to make adjustments “for the greater good.”
DFA employees themselves would also have to make adjustments after their privilege to use the courtesy lane was restricted beginning August 1st. Under the new system, only immediate family members of DFA employees — parents, spouse, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and parents-in-law — have access to the DFA’s express lane.
The significant reduction in the daily courtesy lane slots reserved for the DFA employees has resulted in a further increase in daily slots for applicants who should be entitled to the courtesy lane.
“So we all need to make changes for everybody’s sake. We really want to give back the courtesy lane to those who are entitled to it. These are the senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant, solo parents, children 7 years old and below, and Overseas Filipino Workers,” Abujuela emphasized.
With the newly freed up courtesy lane slots, Abejuela said the DFA was also able to expand the definition of OFWs who can avail of the courtesy lane. The privilege can now be enjoyed by OFWs who are working abroad for the first time.
“Our policy now is that no OFW should be left without a job just because he couldn’t get a passport,” he added.
Aside from these reforms, the DFA has also made available thousands of appointment slots after the agency increased the consular offices’ appointment quotas and cleaned up bogus appointments created by unscrupulous individuals. 94,350 additional slots were opened from July to August, while 86,889 have been added so far for September.
The DFA also successfully brought down to zero the backlog of 33,000 applications pending investigation under the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. END
FILIPINO VERSION
DFA Ibinalik ang mga Passport Appointment Slots sa Publiko
Sa paghahangad na makapagbigay ng maraming appointment slots sa publiko para sa kanilang passport application, tinanggal na ng Department of Foreign Affairs ang fixed appointment slots ng mga travel agencies para sa passport application at renewal ng kanilang mga kliyente.
Tinanggal ang 1,200 slots na araw-araw nakareserba sa mga travel agencies at ang mga ito’y ginawang karagdagang slots para sa mga regular na aplikante. Sinimulang ipatupad ang patakarang ito noong Agosto 1, 2017.
Ayon kay Ricarte B. Abejuela III, Acting Director ng Passport Division ng Office of Consular Affairs, ang mga kliyente ng mga travel agencies, alinsunod sa bagong patakaran ng DFA, ay dapat dumaan din sa prosesong dinadaanan ng iba pang mga aplikante na nais mag-aplay o mag-renew ng kanilang pasaporte.
“Gusto nating ibalik yung mga appointment slots sa publiko,” wika ni Abejuela.
Dagdag pa niya, hindi lamang mga travel agencies ang kinakailangang mag-adjust “for the greater good.”
Mismong mga kawani ng DFA ay kailangan ding mag-adjust matapos tanggalin ang kanilang pribilehiyo na gamitin ang courtesy lane simula noong Agosto 1, 2017. Sa ilalim ng bagong sistema, tanging mga miyembro ng immediate family ― magulang, asawa, anak, kapatid, lolo at lola, mga apo at parents-in-law ― ng mga empleyado ang maaring makagamit ng courtesy lane.
Ang kapansin-pansing pagbaba ng pang-araw-araw na courtesy lane slots na nakalaan sa mga DFA employee ay nagresulta sa pagtaas ng daily slots para sa mga aplikante na dapat makagamit ng nasabing special section.
“Kinakailangan nating magsagawa ng mga pagbabago para sa ikabubuti ng lahat. Gusto kasi natin na talagang ibalik yung courtesy lane doon sa mga dapat gumagamit nito. Ito yung senior citizens, mga taong may kapansanan, buntis, solo parents, mga batang edad 7 pababa, at Overseas Filipino Workers,” binigyang-diin ni Abejuela.
Dahil sa mga bagong courtesy lane slots, ani Abujuela, napalawak ng DFA ang depinisyon ng mga OFW na maaring gumamit nito. Maari na rin itong magamit ng mga OFW na magtatrabaho sa ibang bansa sa unang pagkakataon.
“Ang patakaran natin ngayon ay ito: walang OFW na mawawalan o hindi makakakuha ng trabaho dahil lamang hindi siya makakuha ng pasaporte,” dagdag niya.
Maliban sa mga panibagong reporma, binuksan din ng DFA ang libu-libong appointment slots matapos taasan ang appointment quotas ng consular offices at tanggalin ang mga kahina-hinalang appointments na ginawa ng mga mapagsamantalang indibidwal. Karagdagang 94,350 slots ang binuksan mula July hanggang August, samantalang 86,889 ang kasalukuyang idinagdag para naman sa buwan ng Setyembre.
Matagumpay ding naibaba ng DFA sa zero ang dati nitong backlog na 33,000 aplikasyon na nag-aantay ng desisyon sa imbestigasyon sa ilalim ng Automated Fingerprint Identification System –DFA
