Grace Relucio-Princesa, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE.
Abu Dhabi - The transition to the e-system takes over the previous log-book system which required applicants to personally appear at the embassy just to book an appointment.
Published: Mon 27 Jul 2015, 12:00 AM
Updated: Mon 27 Jul 2015, 3:41 PM
Renewal of passports at the Philippine Embassy is now easier with the activation of the online appointment system. Filipinos across the emirate are being urged to take advantage of this facility.
The transition to the e-system takes over the previous log-book system which required applicants to personally appear at the embassy just to book an appointment.
"The online appointment system is now fully functioning and Filipinos can start making their appointments here," said Philippine ambassador Grace Relucio-Princesa.
The online booking, which has started accepting appointments for September 1, can be accessed through www.abudhabipe.dfa.gov.ae (click book an appointment with us). By August, the embassy will no longer entertain walk-ins unless emergency case.
The interactive system, which has been activated this month, indicates the number of remaining slots available. The embassy takes 36 applicants every two hours on a first-come first-served basis. This means, an applicant who booked an appointment at 8am can be accommodated between 8am-10am.
The embassy currently processes around 150 applications a day on an average, 120 with appointments. People with "exceptional circumstances" such as infants, children, the elderly, pregnant and those with disabilities are not required to make an appointment.
Delay in issuing passports
According to Princesa, the missions abroad are currently facing a delay in issuing passports as the printing services of the Philippine passports in Manila are being shifted to a different company that will use a new printing system to print the passports.
"We are preparing to shift to the new system, but since we have not yet fully shifted, we have backlogs but hopefully this will be resolved by the last quarter of this year," said Princesa. She said that with the new system, processing of passports will be quicker than the current 45 days.
The new printing system underwent test and demo on Thursday and witnessed by President Benigno Aquino III.
According to Rafael Seguis, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for civilian security and consular concerns, the entire passport production system is being modernized and made more secure and efficient.
The new passports are expected to cut processing time by 25 per cent and cut down waiting time by about five days for express processing, and 10 days for regular processing. It will also carry new security features to counter forgeries and counterfeiters.
olivia@khaleejtimes.com
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