DFA launches Passport on Wheels in NCR
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on January 15 launched the Passport on Wheels (POW) program, led by DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Cynthia Villar, at the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) in Barangay Pulang Lupa in Las Piñas City. About 1,500 applicants were served during the day.
IMAGE Department of Foreign Affairs Republic of the Philippines Facebook page
Initiated by Cayetano, the Passport on Wheels program aims to enable more Filipinos, especially those in areas not easily accessible to DFA Consular Offices, to obtain a passport by bringing the service right to their doorstep.
Currently, DFA has four mobile vehicles that are each equipped with five passport data capturing machines (DCMs) and a capacity of 500 applicants per day. POW will initially cover parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) that are not currently served by the six mall-based DFA Consular Offices.
IMAGE Department of Foreign Affairs Republic of the Philippines Facebook page
In the past months, criticism of the DFA arose due to the difficulty of acquiring slots through the DFA online passport appointment system. Waiting time for applicants usually extended up to three months. As a response, the DFA launched the POW program, along with the increase of the capacity of the online appointment system which aims to reduce the waiting time to three weeks.
It was also announced that the DFA will open more passport appointment slots starting this January until March.
Sources: Presidential Communications (Government of the Philippines) Facebook page, Senate of the Philippines website
Images from: Department of Foreign Affairs Republic of the Philippines Facebook page
