Passport @ Mall PH

Looks like the Department of Foreign Affairs is looking for ways to improve their services. Passport processing at the mall. Great idea. With both the Gaisano and Robinsons groups taking part, that means that this won’t be just a Metro Manila-only offering.

Need passport? Go to the mall
By Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
5:51 am | Saturday, October 29th, 2011

Filipinos planning to go abroad may soon apply for passports at malls.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday announced that it will soon start moving its regional consular offices to shopping malls around the country in a bid to improve passport services, and save the government millions of pesos as well.

“With this move, the DFA is taking a big leap forward as it can now more effectively deliver consular services to the public in modern, more applicant-friendly settings at very little cost to the government,” DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement.

He said he expects to begin transferring the first of nine regional and extension offices to some of the country’s leading malls that are covered under Private-Public Partnership arrangements before the end of the year.

“This is expected to save the government over P250 million in the next 10 years,” he added.

The DFA has entered into Memorandums of Agreement with the Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Land Corporation and the Gaisano-owned Pacific Mall Corporation for the transfer and hosting of an initial six of the 18 existing DFA regional consular and extension offices and two new regional offices.

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http://globalnation.inquirer.net/16647/need-passport-go-to-the-mall