The Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Consular Office here in Dumaguete welcomed the announcement of President Duterte to institute changes particularly on the issuance of passports.
DFA Dumaguete OIC Carol Constantino on Thursday explained even before the President’s State of the Nation Address that the DFA had started discussing the possibility of extending the validity of the Philippine passport.
President Duterte announced in his first SONA on Monday the extension of the validity of Philippine passport from five to 10 years.
Duterte also wanted a shorter processing time than the minimum 10 days it takes to obtain a Philippine passport.
Constantino, however, clarified only Congress, not the government agency like DFA, can make the President’s pronouncement a reality.
It was clear in the President’s SONA that the proposed reform at DFA was directed at Congress, Constantino added.
“On the clamor of our citizens for the timely issuance of Philippine passports, the government shall work towards an amendment of the 1996 Passport Law, to lengthen the validity of passports from the current five years to 10 years,” said President Duterte in his SONA.
“Total, kayo naman ang gagawa ng batas,” the President told the lawmakers.
According to Constantino, it would take a lengthy and tedious process to have this proposal take effect, as there are certain concerns especially on the security features of the government document that have to be considered.
Nothing can be done about it at the moment, because the consular office in Dumaguete has not received any instructions [from the Manila headquarters], said Constantino.
After the President made the announcement in his SONA, the Dumaguete consular office has since received inquiries and “even insistent demands” from clients on the extended validity of passports, and a shorter waiting time [for the approval of the identification document], Constantino disclosed.
She lamented that some clients appear to have only heard or read a few lines of the SONA, and do not quite clearly understand the tedious government processes.
People tend to believe that whatever the President has said can happen overnight, she added.
Constantino said she is mulling the idea of posting photocopies of the President’s SONA, especially the portion concerning the DFA, at the regional consular office in Dumaguete.
On the issue of fast tracking the release of passports, the DFA regional consular OIC here explained that 10 working days is the normal time allotted for Express applications, while 20 working days is given for regular applications.
An Express application costs P1,200; regular application is pegged at P900, Constantino said.
Since it was opened in October last year in Dumaguete, the DFA regional consular office has so far encountered minimal problems, according to Constantino, unless there are glitches in the transmission machines.
Constantino explained that the DFA does not have control in the printing of passports, which is done by the Apo Production Unit, Inc., a state-run printing office.
Last June, the regional consular office here encountered some problems with poorly-printed passports, which had to be returned for reprint to Apo Production, she disclosed.
Constantino said it normally takes about 15 minutes to process an application for passport, from the time the person enters the DFA located at the 2nd floor of Robinsons Place in barangay Calindagan.
The Dumaguete consular office caters to clients from the provinces of Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Zamboanga del Norte, and other nearby areas in Mindanao.
With its two transmission machines, the DFA here can accommodate about 150 passport applicants a day. (PNA)
