The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Tuesday that the agency is currently working on a technology that will allow Filipinos to renew their passports at the comfort of their homes.
According to DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, the technology will ease lines in consular offices. The technology is also a response to claims of applicants that online application appointments are usually full since the slots are limited.
“One of these technologies shown to me, ‘yung cellphone kukuhanan lang ng picture ‘yung passport, and then magse-selfie ka. ‘Yung face mo ico-compare sa passport. Then we can mail you the (renewed) passport already,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano clarified that the technology is still being finalized and will only be available for passports processed from August 2016 onwards.
“‘Nung tinurn over sa amin ‘yung data noong 2014, aside from obsolete, corrupted na yung ibang data. (But) Once we have the biometrics, puwede nang hindi na magpakita sa offices and we can do the renewals online,” Cayetano said.
In January, DFA also announced the release Passport on Wheels, a mobile passport processing center. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can also address their passport concerns through an online portal organized by DFA.
Cayetano said the DFA will open 8 new consular offices in the Philippines this year to add 17,000 daily appointment slots.
