The Department of Foreign Affairs will open four more mall-based consular offices—three in Luzon and one in Davao City—in partnership agreements with SM Prime Holdings and the Gaisano Group.
Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the new DFA consular offices will be located at the SM City Dasmariñas, Cavite; SM City San Pablo, Laguna: SM Cherry Foodarama Antipolo, Rizal; and the Gaisano Mall in Tagum City.
The signing of the Public-Private Partnership agreements with SM and Gaisano followed the DFA inauguration of new consular offices at the Robinsons Malls in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, Santiago City, Isabela, and Tacloban City in Leyte.
Three other consular offices are being lined up in Malolos City, Bulacan Paniqui, Tarlac and Ozamiz City or Oroquieta City in Mindanao.
“Our new consular offices are bigger than our existing mall-based offices and will have facilities that will promote a more efficient work flow which will contribute towards faster passport application processing,” Cayetano said.
According to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Frank Cimafranca, the opening of the new offices will significantly boost the efforts of the DFA to improve its capacity to meet the unprecedented surge in passport demand.
Cimafranca said that the DFA has also doubled the number of vans for its Passport on Wheels Program and expanded its Mobile Outreach Services to allow it to accommodate more passport applicants not only in Metro Manila but also the provinces.
The DFA’s main passporting office in Aseana, Parañaque has also been doing Saturday work since January.