---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: DFA Passport Direct <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Oct 8, 2007 8:33 PM Subject: New Machine Readable Passport Pre-Processing Now Available To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FOR INQUIRIES RE NEW PASSPORT PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS, CALL (02) 737-1000 Pilipinas Teleserv Inc. Gives Passport Applicants Much Sought After Convenience Last September 17, 2007, the Department of Foreign Affairs had started issuing machine-readable passports to all passport applicants. Under the new system, applicants have to personally appear at the DFA, sign and affix their thumbprints on their application form before a consular officer. Due to the shift to the new system and the expected surge in the number of passport applicants, people are advised to apply or renew their passports way ahead of their expected travel time. However, with that expectation, the DFA in coordination with Pilipinas Teleserv Inc., the foremost Citizen Services provider in the country, initiated the 24-hour Passport Assistance Hotline 737-1000. With the 24-hour Passport Assistance hotline, renewal applicants can now call and have their passports picked-up and pre-processed for them. After pre-processing, the applicant will be scheduled to appear before the DFA consular officer where they will affix their thumbmarks and signature. Teleserv's personnel will be ready to escort and assist the client the moment they arrive at the DFA. With this faster passport processing procedure dubbed "Green Lane Passport Assistance", on the average, the process will only take about 10 minutes of the applicant's time, doing away with long and tedious steps encountered by ordinary passport applicants. The service also comes with a door-to-door delivery that covers the whole country from Batanes to Jolo. Unlike the old passport version, where the name and other personal information is written down, the new passport is similar to foreign visas, where a sticker containing all these data is stuck on the first page. Under ultraviolet light, the information page reveals the security features that include the seal of the Republic of the Philippines. The picture itself contains the name of the holder and a ghost-picture. On the inner pages, images like the sampaguita flower, Rizal monument, Mayon volcano and others can also be seen under UV light. FOR INQUIRIES RE NEW PASSPORT PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS, CALL (02) 737-1000 Please check www.passport.com.ph for more info -- David Quitoriano "Be brave to do things bigger than yourself."
