In light of the ongoing situation where all appointments with the Bacolod City Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), a requirement when applying for a new passport or renewal, are booked through March 2018, DFA-Bacolod officer-in-charge Carmela Constantino said the office is unable to accommodate for the volume of requests.

“We wish we could give everybody [an] appointment all at one time, but we just cannot do that,” she insisted. “It is kind of hard to cope.”

“We have applicants that bring along four to five children for passport application, that alone multiplies our clients three-four times more,” the local DFA head cited as an example.

She added, even if the DFA were to open regional, satellite, and mobile office, they would not be able to meet the demand.

Meanwhile, Constantino said the new passports valid for 10 years will begin distribution this month.

The new validity period, an increase from the previous five years, was made possible through RA 10928, an amendment to RA 8239, or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996./PLL, WDJ