Applying for Passport in DFA

Few days after obtaining my last requirement for the passport application, I went to Department of Foreign Affair (DFA) in Pasay with my friend Charry and just get it over with.

I was told that you have to be there as early as you can because if you're going to be there at around 7a.m. , all you can get is a schedule of appointment for the next day or who knows when?..We as soon as we finished our shift at 3:30a.m. thinking that we're gonna be early enough to beat the crowd.

On our way Charry was reminding me of things to do and to ignore the fixers outside the compound. I've never been to DFA and I don't even know how it actually looks like so that's a really big help. Thanks Cha! :)

I was surprised to see that the road outside the DFA brick wall was so buy and I could have had mistaken it for a pier port because of the ambiance. the bright yellow light; all the people roaming the street; the guys yelling at people like barkers/porters saying " O bilisan nyo na magka-cut off na and DFA!! " I was thinking " What the heck? Its only like past 4a.m. and they're already cutting the line? " and some guys started dragging us to a corner store asking if we have all of our requirements already and if we already have copies and pictures and stuff like that.

They would really put the pressure on you and make you think that they really were part of the DFA process when in reality they were trying to scam the people by overcharging with the services. (You know the supply and demand thing).

Unluckily Cha didn't make it inside the DFA compound because they only allow applicants with enough requirement for either new application or renewal of passport. We both agreed that she'll wait outside until 6a.m. and will go home after and we'll just communicate through text.

I walked in expecting that I'll just go straight to the covered basketball court since its still early. To my surprised the basketball court was already filled and I have to wait in line outside. I had no other choice so I waited for more than 2 hours just to get in and another 3 hours to finish the whole precess.Good thing that I secured all the documents and didn't get my picture from the sidewalk where the fixers are.

As a tip I would suggest future applicants to secure all their papers and jump right into the line inside the court since its more convenient. While waiting you can befriend someone whose sitting right beside so that you can secure your line/ seat (which is always moving as the process goes).

Don't bother getting your pictures and stuff photo-copied outside the compound because there are booths setup inside for those needs. Make sure you don't give them your originals unless the instructions said so. In My case they took the originals of authenticated Birth Certificate and NBI clearance.

In the posters everywhere it says the "rush" which cost P750.00 will be done within 14 working days and the "regular " that cost P500.00 will be ready within a month. So I picked the faster one. Ironically at the end of my process the posted schedules for the rush is more that how ever long its supposed to be.

I didn't really care much at that time. Out of exhaustion and lack of sleep I decided to sign up for the delivery service via LBC or To-Go !which only cost me an extra hundred or so but will save me from the struggles of claiming it personally.

CFO Counseling for Philippine Passport

Prior to my passport application in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) , I had to attend some counseling session and get a certificate from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) in the The St. Mary Euphrasia Foundation-Center for Overseas Workers (SMEF-COW) compound in Cubao .It was a pre-requisite counseling program for fiancees and spouses of foreign nationals before they can obtain passport or migrate to other countries.

I called their office a week ago to check on the requirements and schedule of counseling. They said they have 3 schedules per day and that the counseling can take 2-3 hours.

There'd been other plans for the day so I decided to go for the 8:30 am session. I got up early in the morning and re-check all the documents needed to attend the counseling.

a. NSO authenticated birth certificate
b. NSO authenticated marriage certificate
c. NBI clearance, company ID and more IDs just in case

It was already quarter to 8:00 so i was in big rush thinking of the classical scene in a government office. crowded, seminars starts whether you are there or not, and most of all the snobby workers who wouldn't look you in the eyes or smile. The cab driver took the Marikina road from Eastwood City and it took us less than 20 minutes to get right inside the " Giant green gate" like how they described in the website's direction.

The guard was friendly but he made me nervous when he said that they no longer conduct counseling. My first question was "Bakit Manong?"( Why is that mr.?) then he started laughing and pointed the direction to the building's door. That was the time when i felt the relief and noticed that there are some people waiting in a little shed outside the door wondering if there's some sort of a line.

Basic procedures, First, you will have to sign in a log book then hand them the original and copy of papers so they can verify if you're qualified for the counseling. Second, they will hand you out the information form to fillout aswell as the survey questionaires about the overall service you were provided after you pa the P250.00 counseling fee.Third is for them to take your picture for their records.

I was in panic because I haven't filled out the papers yet and its already 8:30, at least in my watch. And so I walked straight to the wooden tables and sat there until one of the assisting ladies called my attention asking " miss, is that your blazer?" that was when i started laughing guilty. I forgot that one of the girl lend me that purplish-brown blazer for the picture taking because I'm wearing a sleeveless blouse. ( nyek..nyek..i brushed it off after :p )

Surprisingly there's only like 10 people attending the counseling. They told us all to go straight to the video presentation room for the orientation. On my way i saw the rooms designated to some countries like US, Japan, Italy and another room for others.. including me..and we were told that the rooms are for group counseling.

The actual counseling can be divided into three parts:
1.) Video presentation with Q&A
2.)Group counseling
3.) Individual counseling

After the presentation I went downstairs to wait for my counseling and since I'm the only one bound to Canada from that group i didn't wait that long. another point I think is that they can already tell the real circumstances about my case as we went by so there's really no need to ask more questions.

I filled out my survey sheet and gave it a perfect score although the facility wasn't that great. What do I care about the facilities as long as they do the job right?:) and knowing that most personnel gave their best to make the real point, I think its good enough.

The wait fro the print out of the green counseling certificate was also fast and all i had to do is to photocopy the certificate and go to the actual CFO office at the back of the Building. They filed the papers from SMEF-COW and printed a blue certificate that cost P400.00.

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