13,036 passport slots unused this month – DFA
MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday expressed disappointment after 13,036 passport appointment slots reserved for recruitment and manning agencies were not used this month.
Citing clamor from the agencies, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Brigido Dulay said they reserved 13,650 passport appointment slots this month for overseas Filipino workers.
However, he said only 614 slots or 4.5 percent were actually used.
“Nakakahinayang (Disappointing),” Dulay said on Twitter.
The DFA has been trying to catch up with the demand in passport appointment slots, which rose over the past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dulay said the Office of Consular Affairs will gradually load appointment slots in the upcoming weeks to accommodate more applications.
“There is no exact time when the slots will be opened to avoid overloading the system,” he added.
- Latest
- Trending
