The public has been experiencing difficulty in making passport online appointments at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
That is because the DFA Passport Online Appointment System (passport.gov.ph) is undergoing a technical upgrade, Raymond Villanueva, DFA Negros acting officer-in-charge said.
Villanueva this week took over from DFA Negros chief Florentino Granada who has been reassigned to a post in Nigeria.
The DFA recently opened more appointment slots for passport appointments, it may have caused an overload in the online system that is currently being addressed, he said.
The appointment slots had previously been limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Villanueva said last year, the releasing of passports took two to three months because of COVID restrictions and delivery problems.
The DFA now has a new courier and the release of passports is improving, he said.
At the DFA office at Robinsons Place in Bacolod, passport applications averaged 100 a day last year or about 2,000 a month, he said. The bulk of the applicants were overseas Filipino workers, Villanueva added.
About 20 to 30 applicants a day have come from Panay Island, he said.
That DFA office in Iloilo serves more provinces in Panay so appointment slots are often full there, he explained.*
Florentino Granada (left) was replaced by Raymond Villanueva as DFA Negros head this week.