DFA: We don't discriminate senior citizens

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs has denied allegations that they condone discrimination against senior citizens.

Cynthia Tecson Ricaplaya, officer-in-charge of DFA-7, said that they give priority to people who are senior citizens, pregnant women, those who carry infants, out-of-town applicants, and those who are physically challenged. She explained they don’t let these fall in line.

She reacted to the complaint made by a senior citizen, who claimed that DFA did not attend to her needs and did not have a counter for senior citizens.

Ricaplaya however said that the complainant, who requested anonymity, may not have approached any of their personnel. She added that in the premises of DFA, clients are given strict instructions for proper guidance.

She said the complainant may have gone to their office during the days when they experienced problem with their systems and their regular transactions were disrupted.

Last March 22 to 23, DFA went offline and stopped the encoding and capturing of biometrics.

As a matter of fact, they give out 200 or 250 priority numbers to those who come early and that excludes the numbers of people “who deserve special treatment.”

“Hanggat kaya namin, we will serve them… and talk to employees (of DFA) para dili sila ma misinformed,” Ricaplaya said.

Meanwhile, Ricaplaya happily announced that the Cebu Regional Consular Office of DFA is now fully implementing the E-Passport processing system.

The Philippine E-passport uses biometric technology whereby digital image of the passport photograph can be used with face recognition technology to verify the identity of the passport holder.

The technology, according to Ricaplya, uses fingerprints of the passport holder for the identification using the Automated Fingerprint Verification System.

The E-Passport project is part of the DFA’s passport modernization program that started in 2007 with the launch of the machine-readable passport. To date, about four million MRPs have been issued.

The requirements for E-passport processing will remain the same as that of the Machine Readable Passport. E-passport applicants will be required for the taking of biometrics, which include fingerprints, photo and signature capturing.

However, the Regional Consular Offices will no longer process passport applications for the Machine-Readable passport.

Filipino travelers and migrant workers stand to benefit the most from the globally-compliant E-Passport currently being used in 60 countries. — Marjun A. Baguio/WAB   (FREEMAN NEWS)