Express lane: Get your passport at the mall

 MANILA, Philippines - There has been a significant improvement in passport application and renewal since the Department of Foreign Affairs opened a separate building just for this. Proper lighting and ventilation really helps a lot, it seems, because despite still having to wait in line (even with an express lane pass), the fact that the building is new significantly lowers levels of irritability among applicants. I recently had to have my passport renewed and I was there for a total of three hours –– no sweat. Applicants are given the option of returning to pick up their documents after a week, or have them delivered to their address.

Compared to the main office, there’s a lot of open space in this building so you can see exactly what’s going on. The steps are clear; I would imagine that they’d be even more organized now that they’ve settled into the new space. However, the volume of people cannot be helped. No amount of organization, automation and bouncers can foresee what a mob of bored and thirsty people (water and food are not allowed inside) would do. Creating satellite offices for passport requirements was the practical next step for the DFA to distribute the volume of applicants. They have done this through Lingkod Pinoy Centers, now accessible in malls.

Last Sept. 20, DFA’s new branch at the Lingkod Pinoy Center in Robinsons Galleria, which to date hosts nine government agencies, including National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig, Land Registration Authority (LRA), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Department of Tourism (DOT), was opened for business.

Robinsons Malls is the first and only mall chain that offers government-related services that are housed in one self-contained facility. Robinsons Land Corporation president and CEO Frederick D. Go said, “By hosting some of the busiest government agencies, Robinsons Malls Lingkod Pinoy Center provides a very welcome and appreciated service to Filipinos. This spares them the difficulty, inconvenience and discomfort of transacting business in the national or regional headquarters of these offices. To date, more than five million Filipinos have been served by the Lingkod Pinoy Centers.”

The Lingkod Pinoy Center at Robinsons Galleria houses nine different government agencies including NBI, SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-ibig, LRA, LTO, DOT and DFA.

This is the first public-private partnership with a government agency, making the Lingkod Pinoy Center set-up unique to Robinsons Malls. Its convenience was tested recently, when due to calamities, several Pag-Ibig members applying for calamity loans at the Lingkod Pinoy Centers experienced the advantage of the mall’s location, as well as the accessibility of banks and other establishments. In coming days more Robinsons Malls Lingkod Pinoy Centers will be opened: DFA-Lipa City will open to the public on Sept. 27 at Robinsons Place Lipa, and DFA-General Santos City will be open at Robinsons Place GenSan on Sept. 22.