The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced earlier today that 118,000 passport appointment slots would be opened up to the public.
This announcement comes a week after netizens began accusing DFA officials of colluding with travel agencies who were allegedly booking passport appointment slots in bulk and selling them to the public, something DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has denied.
“Just visit our appointment site every now and then because we will make available additional appointment slots even from February up to June,” DFA Assistant Secretary Frank Cimafranca of the Office of Consular Affairs told reporters today.
He urged the public not to entertain individuals offering passport appointment slots on the internet. “We are warning people that they might become victims of a scam,” he said.
He said that a few days ago, an entrapment operation at their office in Alabang resulted in the arrest of a man who was supposedly getting his passport.
“He claimed he was merely a victim. His application was uploaded on the internet when he was booking an appointment, that’s why we were able to trace him. We are currently investigating this person,” Cimafranca said.
The DFA, he said, is also currently analyzing why appointment slots are immediately taken.
“We’re looking at if these applications are legitimate reservations, or are there enterprising people selling these slots?” he said.
He added that they are doing this so that they can make the necessary technical solution to combat unscrupulous individuals who are trying to hijack appointment slots.”
Last week, the DFA launched its online portal for first-time overseas Filipino workers (OFW) applying for a passport. The portal allows accredited recruitment agencies to secure passport appointment slots for the OFWs.
with a report from ABS-CBN News
