DFA APPEALS FOR UNDERSTANDING DUE

TO DELAY IN PASSPORT RELEASES

The Department of Foreign Affairs today appealed for the understanding of the traveling 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. The DFA will work hard to ensure that those with urgent, especially overseas workers are accommodated. We would like to request those without immediate travel plans to defer their applications until the situation has normalized.” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jaime Victor Ledda of the Office of Consular Affairs said.

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

He also said 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, he said, also coincided with the seasonal increase in passport applications as Filipinos start making preparations to travel this summer.

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

The delays, which started in February, have affected primarily applicants in the 19 Regional Offices nationwide and Foreign Service posts abroad.