Passports in the Philippines - Difficult to get again?

[Joe Kano 327]

I am hearing stories about having hard times getting appointments for getting a passport.  Can anyone confirm this?

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

49 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

I am hearing stories about having hard times getting appointments for getting a passport.  Can anyone confirm this?

Just to be clear, do you mean at DFA for Philippine passport?

[Joe Kano 327]

3 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

Just to be clear, do you mean at DFA for Philippine passport?

Yes

 

Getting an appointment

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

22 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

Yes

 

Getting an appointment

Following.  My 5 year olds PH passport expires October 26.  With kids, it used to be you could walk in anytime and you didn't have to queue.  I think that next time we are in Angeles we will stop by and enquire personally.

[Joe Kano 327]

34 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

Following.  My 5 year olds PH passport expires October 26.  With kids, it used to be you could walk in anytime and you didn't have to queue.  I think that next time we are in Angeles we will stop by and enquire personally.

My friend is in batangas area, and can't find an appointment, said closest one was in Palawan.  

[Chancy 6,241]

52 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

My 5 year olds PH passport expires October 26.  With kids, it used to be you could walk in anytime and you didn't have to queue.

 

I recommend you book an appointment as soon as you can.  Check the passport appointment site daily if possible.  When I went for my appointment back in March, they were not allowing walk-ins, whether seniors or kids.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

37 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

My friend is in batangas area, and can't find an appointment, said closest one was in Palawan.  

Your friend needs to monitor the site every day. Openings will pop up here and there. But you have to be fast because they don’t last long. We went through this game in December last year. 

[payxibka 10,045]

46 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

My friend is in batangas area, and can't find an appointment, said closest one was in Palawan.  

Sounds eerily familiar 

[Joe Kano 327]

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

Sounds eerily familiar 

Yep, I now too remember your story

[Joe Kano 327]

1 hour ago, flicks1998 said:

Your friend needs to monitor the site every day. Openings will pop up here and there. But you have to be fast because they don’t last long. We went through this game in December last year. 

Yep, that is the gameplan.

[top_secret 2,416]

My wife renewed her passport in November 2020.  She paid a fixer P800 to get her an immediate appointment.  She got an immediate appointment.  Renewal took her about 3 weeks from start to passport on hand then.

[Joe Kano 327]

37 minutes ago, top_secret said:

My wife renewed her passport in November 2020.  She paid a fixer P800 to get her an immediate appointment.  She got an immediate appointment.  Renewal took her about 3 weeks from start to passport on hand then.

That was a year ago, things have changed.  I will have my friend look into a fixer.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

3 hours ago, top_secret said:

My wife renewed her passport in November 2020.  She paid a fixer P800 to get her an immediate appointment.  She got an immediate appointment.  Renewal took her about 3 weeks from start to passport on hand then.

I think this is all about fixers.  They have taken all of the appointments.  Embarrassing to the DFA and the country.

 

I wonder how many slots go unused?  I don't think many Filipinos are travelling during the pandemic, and new passport requests should be way down.

[top_secret 2,416]

9 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

I think this is all about fixers.  They have taken all of the appointments.  Embarrassing to the DFA and the country.

 

I wonder how many slots go unused?  I don't think many Filipinos are travelling during the pandemic, and new passport requests should be way down.

If that's how the system works, idealists would totally own the moral high ground protesting it.  OTOH, if that's how the system actually works,,,, maybe that's the way to get the system to work,,,,,, if someone really needed the system to work???

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

8 minutes ago, top_secret said:

If that's how the system works, idealists would totally own the moral high ground protesting it.  OTOH, if that's how the system actually works,,,, maybe that's the way to get the system to work,,,,,, if someone really needed the system to work???

Just to be clear, I was not criticizing you for using the "system" and I will use it if needed.

 

The government has had a public campaign against fixers at government offices for several years.  I remember when the appointment system made the news a few years ago because of the fixers.

 

The government designs an appointment system for citizens, and then looks the other way as fixers take over the system.  There probably is a behind the scenes "agreement" between fixers and management.  That is educated speculation on my part.

 

This endemic corruption at all levels of society is one of the key reasons I decided to move my kids to the U.S.  I don't want them to grow up thinking this is how the world works.  Yes, corruption of all types exists in most societies, but usually it is not drilled into the mindset of most citizens as an "acceptable" way to live.  I believe the corruption in the Philippines is the main reason it cannot move up from third world status.