New passport system gets warm reception

The Filipino public apparently welcomed the new system for passport renewal as Pilipinas Teleserv Inc. received more than 700 calls Monday from people wanting to avail of the service in the morning of its first day of operation.

With the warm reception, Teleserv operations director Jun Yupitun said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and his group were already planning to implement the next phase of the DFA Passport Direct project, which would be the appointment system for first time passport applicants.

Yupitun disclosed the center expected to receive some 2,000 calls by late Monday afternoon as people began calling the 737-1000 hotline as early as six in the morning.

The calls were inquiries or actual orders from various clients. "We were surprised by the number of calls especially when the hotline had just been announced," Yupitun said.

The new passport renewal system aims to reduce the long lines of applicants at the DFA.

But since the program does not accommodate first-time passport applicants, Yupitun said Teleserv would soon provide a new hotline that Filipinos could dial to make an appointment with DFA processors.
Instead of taking one’s chances by going to the DFA and not making it in the quota of applications that can be accepted for the day, Teleserv said it would be better to call first and ensure when the applicant could be best served.

This is the same system that eliminated the queues of people applying for a visa at the United States Embassy.

The 737-1000 hotline can be contacted from anywhere in the Philippines toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After calling the operator, Teleserv sends a courier to pick up the completed passport renewal form and supporting documents of the applicants from their homes or offices.

These are initially sorted by Teleserv before submission to the DFA for processing. The new passport is then delivered back to applicants by couriers in a week’s time.

Teleserv marketing director Raffy David said the documents and payments turned over to the courier are insured against loss and promptly replaced.

Those who hire the services of Teleserv pay P1,200 — P550 for the service fee and P650 for the passport.

The charges, according to the DFA, are cheaper than that of the travel agencies, which do not have couriers to get the applicant’s papers wherever they are in the Philippines.

Travel agencies collect P1,500 to P3,000 from passport applicants who avail of their services.

The DFA said Teleserv is more reliable and secure since some travel agencies are operating illegally.