By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
San
Nicolas, Ilocos Norte—To speed up the
processing of passports, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs Consular Office (DFA-CO) in
this town announced applicants may now prepay their processing fees through
authorized payment centers.
“In our effort to simplify and
speed up passport processing applicants, we have just launched the DFA ePayment
system in Manila,” said Edison Ipac, DFA-CO in officer-in-charge.
The DFA said there is an
additional PHP50 convenience fee for the ePayment on top of the current PHP950
for regular and PHP1,200 for expedited processing.
Applicants will only be able
to secure a confirmed appointment after paying at the various payment centers around
the province.
When seeking passport
renewal, applicants, including those who are working abroad complain about the
difficulties in getting appointment through the DFA’s online facilities.
In a media conference, Mr. Ipac
explained the agency’s central office is the one in-charge of the online
appointment system and they are merely tasked to process passports with
scheduled appointment.
Executive Order No. 45 dated
October 20, 2017, established the DFA-CO Ilocos Norte, the 28th consular
office in the country and the 12th mall-based regional consular
office under the public-private partnership program of the government and the
mall operator.
Since its soft opening on May
8, 2018, Mr. Ipac said they entertain an average of 100 applicants per day.
Starting this month, Mr. Ipac
said they hope to serve more Ilocanos as they will be extending operation from
Monday to Saturday starting 9:00 am onwards or until the last applicant with
scheduled appointment for the day is served.
With the introduction of the
ePayment, Ipac added they expect to increase the number of passport processing
capacity of the DFA as the prepayment will encourage applicants to show up on
their appointment date. The prepayment is non-refundable and non-transferable.
For children, there are two types of Expedited passport available. The passport card and book are these. You must specify which position you are applying for. The minor has the right to travel by land or sea thanks to the passport card. The options are limited to Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean as a result. The privilege of traveling by any means of transportation is provided by the passport card.
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