PASSPORT processing and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) assistance services of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) are now accessible to Negrenses with the inauguration of its new office at Robinsons Place in Dumaguete City.
The the DFA regional consular office in Dumaguete City is the 9th consular office hosted by Robinsons Land around the country.
Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Rafael Seguis said this office will deliver efficient, effective and prompt services to address the needs of OFWs, businessmen, travelers, tourists and students.
The regional consular office (RCO) in Dumaguete has two data capturing machines that can handle 300 passport applications per day.
For now, RCO-Dumaguete officer-in-charge Tita Rebollos said an average of 50 passports applications can be processed daily but this will be increased to 100-200 a day when needed.
The office is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
“We are accepting regular passport fee of P950 for 20 working days and P1,200 for express passport processing for 10 working days,” said Rebollos.
With the opening of the RCO-Dumaguete, residents here will no longer have to go all the way to Cebu City and Bacolod City to apply for passports, said Edward Du, president of Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Considering the distance of those places, the time, effort and money would be saved for ordinary passport applicants is considerable,” Du said.