Pay first — DFA to passport applicants

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has started implementing a new payment system to address the huge backlog in passport applications and to get rid of fixers who sell appointment slots to applicants.

Starting this month, all passport applicants at the DFA-Aseana office in Parañaque City are required to first pay the processing fees at any authorized payment center before their scheduled appointment date.

The same system is expected to be implemented in other consular offices in Metro Manila next month and across the country by August.

“It will allow DFA consular offices to accommodate more passport applicants. By cutting down the processing time, the consular offices will be able to accommodate more applicants with the same amount of available resources,” the agency said, referring to the new system.

“It gets rid of fixers. Payment of the passport processing fee is a pre-requisite before an applicant will be able to receive a confirmed appointment schedule. An applicant’s confirmed appointment schedule is non-transferrable,” it added.

The DFA said the new system will also encourage passport applicants to show up on their scheduled appointments as the fees paid through the payment centers are not refundable.

Aside from the usual rates charged by the DFA  – P1,200 for expedited and P950 for regular processing – applicants will also have to pay an additional P50 in convenience fee charged by the payment centers.

Authorized payment centers include Bayad Center, EcPay, Pera Hub, Robinson’s Business Center and Department Stores, Waltermart Department Store, 7-11, USCC (Western Union) and Villarica Pawnshop.

Applicants may also pay through credit and debit cards or through over-the-counter cash transactions in select banks in the future.