Passport services transferred near Mall of Asia

From The Manila Bulletin

The operations of the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) will be transferred to a new building located at the corner of Bradco and Macapagal Avenues at Aseana Business Park, Parañaque City, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.

Situated near SM Mall of Asia, the new 7,000-square meter, four-storey building is a few blocks away from the DFA main building. The OCA began moving to the location late last month.

Starting Thursday, March 4, 2010, the OCA would handle authentication of documents at the new building, while all passport operations will be moved to the same location on Monday, March 8.

All new consular and passport applications shall be filed at the new site beginning those dates, the DFA stressed.

The new building is part of the ongoing modernization program undertaken by DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo in an effort to improve the agency’s frontline services.

The DFA’s upgrade plan includes harnessing new technologies in passport and visa issuances and streamlined procedures in the authentication of documents.

“It is part of our dream for the Filipino people to have a world-class passport and consular services. We have done it through the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) and the e-Passport, and now the dream is complete with the new DFA-OCA building,” Romulo said.

To ensure quick, comfortable service, passport applicants are advised to check the passport requirements and secure an online appointment at www.dfa.gov.ph (consular tab), or to call the consular help-line number (02-556-0000) or DFA telephone number (02-834-4000).

Applications may also be filed with the DFA’s 19 regional consular and satellite offices.