Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will not allow applicants to make amendments to their passport during their appointment due to "crooks" selling their appointment slots.
Locsin made the statement after the DFA Undersecretary Dodo Dulay posted on Twitter an advisory for undelivered passports while telling the public that no changes can be made on their passport details during their scheduled appointment.
Among the details that cannot be amended during an applicant's appointment are the person's name and birth date.
In a tweet, Locsin explained that this change was made to address suspicions about people selling their appointment slots amid the coronavirus pandemic where passport applicants were having difficulty booking an appointment.
"The root of this change is we suspect crooks selling appointments," he said.
Okay guys, here it is. The root of this change is we suspect crooks selling appointments. https://t.co/1ZoVv1bNii
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) August 13, 2021
Based on the advisory, mistakes in the name and date of birth fields cannot be amended on the day of the appointment and shall be manually corrected by the DFA.
According to Dulay, there will be significant delays in the release of passports with errors as the DFA was still manually correcting more than 21,000 applications.
The DFA advisory stated that as the modification of details took time, applicants were advised to wait for DFA's email regarding the printing and release of their passports.
The agency reminded the public to be very careful when filling out the online passport application form, especially on the name and date of birth fields, as any entered information, including typographical errors, will appear on the passport.
TO ALL PASSPORT APPLICANTS: No amendments of names or birthdates are allowed during your appointment sked. For those w/ errors, pls expect significant delays as we are still manually correcting 21,000+ applications. For undeliverable passports, pls refer to our advisory below. pic.twitter.com/37TTD5omS4
— Dodo Dulay (@dododulay) August 13, 2021
DFA Consular Offices and Temporary Off-Site Passport Services (TOPS) in the National Capital Region were closed from August 6 to 20, 2021 due to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
According to the DFA, passport applicants affected by the temporary closure of the said offices and facilities will receive separate email advisories on their new appointment schedule.
Meanwhile, DFA’s Passport and Apostille/Authentication Services at the Aseana Business Park in Parañaque City will continue accepting applicants who already have a confirmed appointment in DFA-Aseana between August 6 to 20, 2021. However, no walk-in applicants will be accepted.