BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia thanked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for partnering with the City Government to bring its Passport on Wheels program to the city.
The two-day Passport on Wheels program which started on Monday, June 18, at the MassKara Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p. m. has about 1,000 pre-screened applicants, or 500 applicants per day.
Leonardia said, “we thank the DFA for partnering with our City Government in bringing the Passport on Wheels program to Bacolod.”
“Bacolodnons have been experiencing difficulty getting an online appointment to apply for or renew their passports due to the backlog in the DFA online appointment process,” the mayor said.
“The Passport on Wheels is a way of extending help to our constituents who need to travel abroad especially those who will do so for work or business. It is timely that we are celebrating our 80th charter anniversary that we are also offering this service, as we continue to endeavor to deliver better, efficient, fast service to our people,” the mayor added.
Councilor Em Ang, chair of the City Council Committee on Tourism, said the Passport on Wheels is also part of the activities of the year-long commemoration of the 80th year of the signing of the charter of the City of Bacolod.
Ang stressed that DFA personnel will not entertain walk-in applicants, only those who have been pre-screened last week.
DFA Regional Consular Office Bacolod OIC Carolina Constantino said the Passport on Wheels, launched in January this year, is one of their programs to ease long lines and congestions in passport applications.
The Passport on Wheels will also assist those who cannot go online to schedule their applications, she added. (PR)