After many Filipinos camped outside the DFA’s consular office in Paranaque City to obtain appointment slots, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday called out recruitment businesses that circulated incorrect information on the application for travel papers.
The DFA claimed in a statement that the applicants, who were going to work overseas, were told by their workforce agency that if they lined up early and stayed overnight, they would obtain spots.
“DFA’s preliminary investigation into the incident revealed that several recruitment agencies had disseminated misinformation among their applicants regarding the Department’s walk-in policy,” the DFA said.
“According to accounts of applicants, their recruitment agencies urged them to line up and stay overnight at DFA Aseana so that all their travel documents could be expedited. Other applicants conveyed that their agencies instructed them late at night to proceed to DFA-Aseana immediately.”
On March 22, the DFA announced that walk-in applicants for Apostille or document authentication services would be accepted.
From the evening of March 22 till the morning of March 23, an inflow of applicants lined and tented outside the DFA-Aseana office in response to the news.
DFA blames recruitment firms on long queues in consular office
“DFA considers this behavior of certain recruitment agencies highly irresponsible and malicious, not only for disregarding the DFA’s announced limits for walk-in applicants and attempting to monopolize DFA’s walk-in services to the detriment of other eligible applicants, but also for disregarding the welfare of our OFWs whom they ought to protect by putting them out in the streets in the middle of the night,” DFA said.
The DFA’s main consular office in Aseana can only handle 900 passport applications and 1,400 authentication applications daily, according to its online appointment systems.
Only 300 walk-in applicants for Passport Courtesy Lane and 300 walk-in applicants for Authentication/Apostille services are accepted.
Walk-in applicants are also accepted at ten off-site offices in Megamall (100 applicants), SM Manila (150 applicants), Robinsons Star Mall (80 applicants), Alabang Town Center (150 applicants), Robinsons Place Iloilo (60 applicants), Ali Mall Cubao (80 applicants), CSI Mall in La Union (50 applicants), SM City Davao (90 applicants), Pacific Mall Mandaue (100 applicants), and SM Downton Premier in Cagayan De Oro (100 applicants) (37 applicants).
The DFA also warned Filipinos against dealing with fixers who claim to help with passport and authentication appointment slots while charging high fees.
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