How Long Does It Take to Have Your Philippine Passport Released?

      I don't know about you but I am a constant patient of Doctor Google. Be it a recipe for kadyos, a review on a Nars foundation, or standard steps on how to process your papers--I make sure that my Dr. Google is at hand. Dr.G's pretty handy, I tell you. Saves you a lot of cash too.

    Anyway, I am bound to travel at the end of this month and I took notice of my passport just a week ago. Saw that it will expire on the third week of August and decided to have it renewed. And yes, there goes Dr. Google rounding up all my questions. 

     To sum it a bit, I got on to DFA's site (don't you just miss how we used to call our country's departments Ministry of this and that...?) and set my appointment which was to be on the 23rd of June. No biggie. Then it made me think of the depressing things I'd see on my way to Manila... Scratch that, I just don't do well on long travels... I always go on withdrawal during fourteen-hour flights--so I went to my nearby DFA (not more than five kilometers away) and asked if they'll acknowledge my appointment there. The guy I talked to (DFA staff) advised me to go with my Manila appointment since it will take a month before they could actually accommodate me. A frigging month, that's right. A big slap on my face as a tax payer. Since I needed to have my passport pronto I wiggled my way out and check my options. Ended up going to an agency and have my appointment the next working day. Since things were pretty dubious, I contacted Dr. Google and asked around... It seemed that Dr. G along with the people from DFA have transpired to commit a lapse in promulgating that it currently takes EIGHT (working) weeks to release passports. Ouch. I should've practiced my usual speech of doing things today 'cause you're bound to do them anyway...

      Tough luck. The day of my appearance, I've learned a few things I so wished I knew a week before.

     One, you can extend your passport for two years. The Foreign Affairs Ministry (DFA as one would normally call it) will stamp your passport so you could use it. However, their outdated site reminds its readers to be aware that this option is for dire purposes only. Meaning if all your relatives are alive and kicking, if your employer allows you to forego a deadline--by all means smell the flowers and sit for two months until our printing facilities are able enough to print your passport-- then you're not legible on the extended Philippine passport program. However, it seems like if you have an existing ticket (round trip, please), present this along with other supporting documents you may or may not have and get that stamp.

    So why didn't I just had my passport extended,--you might ask. Honey, not all countries accept extended passports... Probably, because there aren't a lot of countries incompetent enough to neglect fixing 'technical problems' for months... So yeah. Tough luck, really since Singapore is not on my agenda.

     Two, go find yourself an agency that could process your Philippine passport for fifteen days. I kid you not. This could be done--provided you could sing a twelve-thousand pesos tune. 

     Three... Something that I still have to confirm, DFA Manila could process your passport half the time. If your paying twelve hundred pesos for overtime visa, expect to have it in a month... And that's not even sure so take the added risk.

     Just after I signed and have my photo taken, I asked the guy if he could assure the 60-working day processing of my passport. I received a blank stare and pursued the matter. He then asks another guy and grudgingly gave me a gray answer. Another b*tch slap on a tax payer's face. 

     Now, I know I should've checked my passport and went about it earlier.... Baseless reason of thinking things are still the same and I could receive my passport seven days after... Oh, well. Should I blame the BSP then for their lack of skills on linear programming? They print our passports. And now that they have to divide their time on printing our new currency and our passports... Could I blame them? Not if only banks get the big bulk of the mint. And not even if it might take a year for me to get a hold of one.

    Hopefully, my passport gets released on the last day of August... Or wait until kingdom come perhaps.