By Michaela del Callar
MANILA, Dec. 2 (PNA) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has opened provisional express lanes for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to speed up their passport application amid delays in the processing of said travel documents outside Metro Manila.
In order to avail themselves of express processing, applicants must present either of the following sets of documents apart from the usual passport application requirements: Job Order confirmed/certified by the POEA; or Job Order approved and certified by a Labor Attaché and authenticated/acknowledged by a consular officer at a Philippine embassy or consulate-general.
The DFA began implementing the new policy last Nov. 24 in all its Regional Consular Offices.
Those applying for the 15-day express processing, will have to pay Php1,200 while regular processing, which takes 25 working days, costs Php950.
The DFA has been experiencing some delays in the processing of passports due to technical glitches.
However, it assured that the normal 10-working-day express processing and 20-working-day regular processing for passport applications in regional offices will resume once the newly-procured passport printing machines have been properly tested and installed.
In the National Capital Region, processing of rush passport application is still seven days and 15 days for normal processing.
“The DFA wishes to assure the public that it is exhausting all its efforts in providing better service to all Filipinos,” the DFA said. (PNA)