Bonjour. Mabuhay.
This doesn’t make sense. How come some Pinoys line up for hours to get a passport and yet never claim them when the time comes?
Kakaibang pag-uugali ata ito. Are you one of these 100,000?
‘DOESN’T MAKE SENSE’ – 100,000 passports still unclaimed–DFA
By Jerry E. Esplanada, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Up to 100,000 passports processed in the past six months have remained unclaimed at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) has no recourse but to cancel and immediately discard passports that remain unclaimed “within six months from their scheduled release dates,” said DFA spokesperson J. Eduardo Malaya.
“That is why we are reminding all passport applicants to claim their passports, if possible, on their scheduled release dates,” Malaya said.
Puzzling
Some OCA employees said they were “puzzled why some applicants go out of their way to secure passports—including lining up at passport processing offices as early as 4 a.m.—but do not bother retrieving the travel documents on their release dates.”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said one OCA staff member.
Malaya noted that applicants are fully aware that their passports would be released through the receipts that are issued to them.
“They are also informed by consular personnel that the OCA can hold the passports for only a brief period of time after the normal processing period. Nonetheless, many applicants claim their passports after the due date while some forget about the passports altogether,” he said.
Last year, the DFA issued a total of 1,583,183 passports, 677,406 of which were processed at the new OCA building, located at the corner of Macapagal and Bradco avenues in the Aseana Business Park (near the SM Mall of Asia) in Parañaque City.
Fees
Another 733,244 passports were issued by the 18 regional consular offices nationwide while the rest came from the country’s 94 embassies and consulates abroad.
The DFA charges P950, or $21.40, for the regular processing of a passport, which takes 20 working days.
For a fee of P1,200, passport processing can be expedited to only 10 working days.
The same passport, however, would cost $60 (about P2,658) when issued at Philippine diplomatic missions worldwide.
It is “higher because of transport and logistics costs plus the higher rates for personnel services and utilities” in the foreign diplomatic missions, Malaya explained.
Malaya advised overseas Filipino workers to avail of the lower passport fee by getting the travel document in the country.
DFA statistics showed that more than 70 percent of applicants got their passports in Manila and other key cities where the agency’s regional consular offices are based.
Lowest in Asia
The DFA earlier said the Philippine passport processing fee as “one of the lowest in Asia, if not the world.”
The fee is “way below those of other Asian countries, including Japan ($180), Cambodia ($120), Malaysia ($97), Singapore ($52), Brunei Darussalam ($37), and Thailand ($33),” it said.
A Philippine passport also costs much less than its counterparts in the United States ($110) and Canada ($86).
Passport applicants are no longer required to bring photographs when applying for the “ePassport,” which the DFA started issuing in late 2009, since they will have their pictures taken using ePassport data-capturing machines at the processing centers.
Meanwhile, the DFA has announced that passport processing operations will be suspended next Saturday (Jan. 22) for a systems maintenance check.
Passport applicants with scheduled OCA appointments on Jan. 22 will be accommodated for processing on any working day between Jan. 24 and Feb. 17.
If you can’t claim the passport, maybe you should consider passport delivery.
Pinoys are sometimes a puzzling people. Fascinating, yet puzzling.
MasterCitizen's Blog 
helo po. Saan po ba makakakuha ng list of unclaimed passport? 2 years ago pa po hndi na-claim yung passport na nerenew ng kakilala ko.And reading comments and your replies in this site need nya na talaga mag-apply ng bago po? pero need ang report ng unclaimed passport? saan po makakakuha? may site po ba ng list? pwd po pahingi ng link if meron?
maraming2x salamat po.
Sa Consular records division yun nakukuha pag nag apply na siya pa pupuntahin siya doon. Sa DFA Asena siya mag file ng passport application nya.
Hi.. maclaim ko po ba ang passport ko last july 2016 ako nagrenew then dapat august ko maclaim kaso d ko nakuha. Pwede ko pa ba makuha dis month? Tnx
6 months ang grace period nila na binibigay para makuha ang mga unclaimed passports. Kung nag lapse na yan apply ka na ng bago.
Another po ba ang mga kailangang dokumento para maka-apply po ng baong passport. unclaimed po ka si yun. tapes sabi nila, kelangan ko raw po kumuha ng affidavit of explanation. maliban po doon, anu-ano pa po ang Kelangan?
Yung mga valid I.D’s at PSA(NSO) B.C ,M.C if married ulit.
hindi ko pona claimed yung passport ko more than 1yr,,may kailangan pabang gawin or supproting docs. nakunin para makapag-apply ulit ng panibagong passport or mag-pasched nalang bagong application?
Kailngan mo mag file ulit ng bago. Kuha ka ng appointment schedule at i ready ulit yung mga requirements mo as new applicant. May mpapakuha sila sa iyong unclaimed list sa DFA records division once na nag file ka na.
oo nga naman bakit nadedalay ang passport, wag kayo magbigay ng realesing date kundi niyo lng maibigay that time,
kya plss bigyan niyo naman ng attention kasi kailangan na namin ang pasport namen, tulad ko na approved ako sa agency ko pra abroad problima delay ang pasport ko,
Di ba may nakalagay na reminders nung mag file kayo na may possible delay. Kung masyado ng matagal ang delay personalin nyo nang pumunta sa DFA head para makapag follow up ka.
Good noon po,
I’m Kineath Jean B. Gordiones,meron po akong concern regarding sa passport ko na super delayed na. dapat nong May 30, 2014 ang released pero wala pa din. Tumawag ako sa sa phone pero busy palagi. Sana po mag-reply kayo dito para malaman ko kung kelan ko makuha passport ko. Salamat.
Sobrang delay na nga nito, mas maganda siguro kung personalmo ng puntahan sa DFA office amg passport mo para malaman ang problema, kung sa DFA na ba or sa courier ang totoong problema kungbakit til now wala pa yung passport mo.
Meron po ako unclaimed passport for more than 6 months na sa davao tos nag apply ako ulit ng passport dito sa cotabato. Nung date ng releasing sinabi sa akin nung sa information personnel na kelangan ko pa daw pumunta ng davao para makuha yung unclaimed report. Ask ko lang sana kung may ibang way pa na hindi na ako pupunta ng davao? Mejo hectic dn kasi ang schedule.
Kailangan mo talagang kunin yung list na yun eh. Itanong mo na lang kung puedeng trhu representative na lang nag pagkuha nung list na yun? Baka naman may kamag anak ka pa doon.
ndi ko po naclaimed ang aking passport dahil po ako ay naglayas sa aming lugar.. pls help
sir
Pag lagpas na ng 60 days mula sa nakatatak na date sa resibo, kailangan mo na mag apply ng bago
according to the agency na napagtanongan ko po.. dapat daw kumoha ng UNCLAIMED REPORT from the DFA manila. is that true?dapat ba personal or you can authorize someone to request for unclaimed report for you specially pag malayo ka from manila. thank you.
in the case of unclaimed passport.. what are the documents needed para mag reapply? and what should be done? thank you!
Gaano katagal na hindi na claim from the date of application?
6 months ang waiting period, after that you need to apply again
I am seaman by profession and renewed my passport last May 9, 2011. On May 12, I went on board with a 10 mos. contract and have no chance to claim my passport on the schedule date of release. As of DFA 6 mos period regulation after the date of release , my renewed passport was already consider cancelled.
On April 26, 2012, I filed again for renewal at DFA-CDO but unfortunately resulted to pending due to my unclaimed passport. I was advised and submitted affidavit for cancellation of my unclaimed passport but until NOW their were no progress with my application according to DFA-CDO. Almost every other day I follow up my application but same turnout with no progress. I don’t know how the system of communication works between DFA regional & DFA-main to arrive with this kind of very long time of waiting. I am very anxious with the feedback that seems I really need my passport urgently for my employment.
Is there any possible good solution to expedite my application?
Thank you very much and more power.
I am seaman by profession and renewed my passport last May 9, 2011. On May 12, I went on board with a 10 mos. contract and have no chance to claim my passport on the schedule date of release. As of DFA 6 mos period regulation after the date of release , my renewed passport was already consider cancelled.
On April 26, 2012, I filed again for renewal at DFA-CDO but unfortunately resulted to pending due to my unclaimed passport. I was advised and submitted affidavit for cancellation of my unclaimed passport but until NOW their were no progress with my application according to DFA-CDO. Almost every other day I follow up my application but same turnout with no progress. I don’t know how the system of communication works between DFA regional & DFA-main to arrive with this kind of very long time of waiting. I am very anxious with the feedback that seems I really need my passport urgently for my employment.
Is there any possible good solution to expedite my application?
Thank you very and more power.
Where did you apply in May 2011?
Go to the passport Director’s office in CDO and bring up your request, show the documents (cancellation request) and say what they can do to expedite the request or can they trace your old passport and issue that to you.
If this does not work, try going to DFA Manila, and go to the Passport Director there.
bkit d p dumdting ang aking passport?pna p deliver ko yun,mg33months n d p dmdting,jan po kumuha sa dfa aseana,tmwag ko sa dfa sbi eh nsa lbc n raw,nung tumawag ko sa lbc eh ang sbi nsa dfa p raw,cno kya s knla ang cnungaling?
Jahn, puntahan mo yung LBC sa DFA para makuha mo to. Sobrang tagal na yan.
bkit d p dumdating ang aking passport mag33mnths n,nung itawag ko sa dfa sbi eh nsa lbc n,ng tumawag nman ko sa lbc sb eh nsa dfa p raw,mga cnungaling cla,bayad n po yun bkit d nyo p nbbgay skin
how about unclaimed during the delivery date? how can we claim it? there was no tracking number given also… kindly pls help..thanks
Daisy, sino ang delivery courier mo? Sa DFA Aseana ba yan? Try looking up the follow up numbers of delivery couriers in this blog.
panu naman kasi super slow ng dfa..nagbbgay cla ng releasing date nila sa applicante tpos after ilan wiks p pala nila irerelease..baka tinamad na kunin ung iba…paasa lang kasi dfa sa oras eh…palpak naman..
may point ka mr kick ass :). pero sayang naman kung hindi natin kukunin yung passport na binayaran natin. kaya dapat pag kailangan ng dfa passport, we should allot a longer time to get a new passport or renew an old passport para less hassle even if the dfa is delayed for whatever reason there may be.
Why oh why? Sayang naman ang effort nila. And once they found out that their unclaimed passports were disposed off, magagalit naman sila sa DFA. Haist… Pinoy nga naman. 🙂