With the online passport appointment system of the Department of Foreign Affairs (http://dfa.gov.ph/form/app3/index.html), one could easily schedule an appointment with the DFA to acquire a passport without having to “endure the long queues,” as advertised by the office on their website.

I signed up for this service with the belief that my trip to the DFA would be done with ease and my time maximized. Of course, I didn’t expect it to be a walk in the park; but neither did I expect it to become a big disappointment.

I submitted my online application for an appointment on October 10, 2009. It was a Friday. I got an email message, saying I would receive the appointment schedule within seven days. True enough, by October 12, Monday, I received the email, stating that my appointment would be on the following day, Tuesday, at 9 to 10 o’clock in the morning.

To make sure that I would be accommodated, I arrived at the DFA office ahead of time, especially since the email I received emphasized that the “application slot is not transferable and valid only on the date and time specified.”

In front of the building, I saw a group of people crowding the entrance. Some appeared to be passport applicants, clutching folders and application forms, while others looked like service representatives, some with identification cards hanging on their necks. Outside the DFA grounds, a sign can be seen saying, “Fix the fixers.” I sensed that the uniformed people outside were too pushy, so, I decided not to do business with them, lest they were fixers.

When I got inside the DFA office, Gate 2, I immediately looked for the “special area for those with appointments”. Failing to find this special area, I presented the printout of the appointment to the guard, who then directed me to Window 28. I felt relieved seeing that there was no line at that particular window; which was explained a little later because the one behind the window said that they only process E-passport applications. And since I was a Machine-Readable passport applicant, I was at the wrong queue!

I was asked to line up at the other windows with quite a number of applicants. During this time, I was still hopeful that I could put my appointment into good use. When it was my turn, I presented the appointment printout and the employee crossed out my name on the list. I guess it was the list containing the names of the applicants who applied for an appointment online.

After looking at my passport application form and checking it, I was directed to the auditorium. And there, my patience was put to a test.

The payment, encoding, and fingerprinting were each done inside the auditorium behind different desks, each with its own queue. I had to reiterate to the employees there that I have an appointment. However, they kept telling me that the queues were for everyone; whether one had an appointment or not.

What was the purpose of the appointment then? Aside from going directly to Gate 2 and not lining up at the gym (this is different from the auditorium) where many people where lining up maybe for the checking of their status; it seemed that the appointment had no more use. Even the employees there were unclear about its purposes.

One of the employees wanted to honor my appointment; she just was not sure how it could be done since another employee contradicted her and said that I had to line up just like everybody else.

Tired of arguing and wanting to just be done with the process, I went to sit behind the last person on the queue. I didn’t mind the number of people ahead of me and tried to forget about the whole appointment system.

At the encoding counter, I faced a male employee who did not speak but communicated using gestures. We had difficulty understanding each other and it took a while for me to understand that the picture I submitted didn’t follow the required format and that I had to have my picture taken again. I felt I had no choice but to avail of the photo service inside the auditorium. It cost me P150 (I got my previous picture outside for only P40).

Despite all these glitches, I was able to finish my passport application before lunch that day. But contrary to their promise of “no more enduring the long queues,” I still had to line up just like everybody else; my appointment was completely useless. I went there feeling excited over the whole process and went out almost cursing the system!

Maybe I relied on the “we have reserved a slot for you” line too much. But still there is no justification for the ineffectiveness of the DFA’s online appointment service. Until after going through all the process of lining up, nobody from that office was able to explain the purpose of the appointment and I never got to understand the whole point of it.

I am scheduled to pick up my new passport on Thursday, October 22 (since I applied for the expedite passport processing that would only require seven working days for the passport to be released, unlike the normal way which would take fourteen working days). But I won’t get my hopes up.

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The following is an excerpt from the reply from Department of Foreign Affairs through spokesperson Ed Malaya:

“Let me put it into context. The DFA processes about 8,000 passport applications per day. Given that huge volume, in fact, the appointment system has greatly aided us in managing this huge number of passport applications received on a daily basis.

“In fact, through the appointment system, we are able to spread out the applicants throughout the day and throughout the week, and thus avoiding what we have noticed previously as a bunching of applicants who come in very early morning during the day, and Monday and Tuesday during the week, thus resulting in even better services.

“DFA has also opened additional regional consular offices throughout the country, now numbering 17, and conducts regular mobile passport missions in various towns, cities and provinces, in cooperation with LGUs, thus bringing our services closer to the doorsteps of our kababayans. The DFA leadership under Sec. Alberto Romulo, rest assured, is committed to rendering the most efficient and most courteous consular service that we can give to our people.”

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Update: October 28, 2009.

A week after the system glitch was brought to the knowledge of Atty. Bong Carino, Passport Director/Administrator for the DFA, he informed the Manila Bulletin Online that they have improved the passport appointment system and designated a specific queue for the passport processing of the applicants who have appointments.

This is an improvement from the previous scenario wherein all applicants, whether with an appointment or not, were asked to line up on the same queue.