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The Eastern Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct mobile passport application processing services in the region due to difficulties in securing online appointments.
Department of Budget and Management Regional Director Imelda Laceras, chair of the RDC Development Administration Committee, said the council approved on Sept. 19 the resolution to help fast-track passport applications.
Laceras said the service is highly needed since some government employees failed to attend trainings abroad due to failure to process passport applications or renewals.
“Some RDC members expressed their predicament on securing an appointment for passport application as the limited monthly allotted slots are often fully booked quickly and distant access to limited passport services centers to Eastern Visayas clients,” Laceras said in a statement on Friday.
There is high demand for passport applications but only one DFA consular office in the region, located in Tacloban City with a limited number of frontline staff to cater to the entire region.
“Per day-to-day operations assessment of the DFA office in Tacloban, a significant percentage of passport applicants comes from the Samar and Biliran Islands and Southern Leyte province, wherein clients have to invest considerable time and effort and incur additional travel expenses to avail of passport processing services,” Laceras said.
The implementation of a series of mobile passport application services allows clients from remote or underserved areas to conveniently access this essential service, eliminating the need for long-distance travel and associated costs.
The mobile service will also alleviate some of the strain on the resources of the DFA consular office in Tacloban.
“The said undertaking also aims to provide localized services for government employees who are serving at the frontlines and are unable to process their applications to obtain their passports without the added stress of taking time off work and with minimal disruptions to their professional and civil service responsibilities,” Laceras said.
The resolution will be forwarded to the DFA central office for consideration.
