DFA APPEALS FOR UNDERSTANDING DUE TO DELAY IN PASSPORT RELEASES

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs appealed for the understanding of the travelling public, particularly those in the provinces, as it announced that the delay in passport releases could last for a few more weeks as a result of technical concerns and the surge in the demand for the ePassport.

“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delays, especially to our overseas Filipino workers, but we would like to assure the public that we are exerting our best efforts to resolve the issues as soon as possible,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jaime Victor Ledda of the Office of Consular Affairs said.

“The DFA will work hard to ensure that those with urgent travel, especially overseas workers, are accommodated,” Assistant Secretary Ledda added.  “We would like to request those without immediate travel plans to defer their applications until the situation has normalized.”

Assistant Secretary Ledda also said that those with expiring passports who cannot forego their travel may opt to apply for an extension of the validity of their existing passports instead of applying for renewal.

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 (BSP) facility in Quezon City.  This also coincided with the seasonal increase in passport applications as Filipinos start making preparations to travel abroad this summer.

The DFA has been working closely with the BSP to resolve the issue and that it is confident that it would be able to reduce the waiting period in the coming weeks.

At present, applicants would have to wait an additional 10 working days before their passports could be released in the Philippines.  At the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, the public was earlier advised that the waiting period has been extended from six weeks to eight weeks, barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Consulate’s control.

The delays, which started in February, have affected primarily applicants in the Regional Consular Offices in the Philippines and Foreign Service posts abroad. ###end