I tried the DFA online appointment system. I was scheduled over a month ago. When I arrived on my designated time slot, 3 to 4 in the afternoon, there were about 50 people ahead of me. Is the processing time so quick that they can fit in 50 people within that time frame?
Then, I realized that the 50 people were all mixtures of new applicants, renewals, and perhaps other reasons for having an appointment with the DFA. It would have been nice if they separated renewals from new applicants. That is probably one step in streamlining the process.
Second, there should probably be an OIC checking if the applicant has all the necessary requirements before telling the applicant to wait in line. After waiting for about 45 minutes, and finally being let inside the DFA processing area, the checker who was receiving photocopies of I.D.s told me that they needed my birth certificate. I presented them with the original NSO issued birth certificate, but they said it has to be the green one issued by the PSA. I know that in a bureaucratic setting, workers are probably just concerned with following the rules so that they don't get in trouble with their superiors. But I cannot understand why renewing a passport requires a birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) when I already have an old birth certificate issued by the NSO. And my date of birth and place of birth has already been established in my old passport which I applied for in 2009. (Renewals, in my opinion, should no longer require a birth certificate. And as far as the PSA is concerned, all they do is enlarge the original Birth Certificate. So if the original details on the birth certificate are not clear, you practically have a useless document. If they are going to charge 315 pesos for the document, then they should at least have all the information on the original document printed and verified along with the birth certificate they send to the person so that the DFA cannot say that some of the fields are unclear. But again, instead of requiring a birth certificate, the DFA should just be able to verify a person's date of birth and place of birth from the PSA since these are the only fields required for a passport.)
Also, I cannot understand why the DFA has to keep the original birth certificate? That costs 315 pesos to apply for online and will take between 3 to 5 working days to arrive by courier after payment has been made. Is the PSA without a government budget that they need to partner with the DFA in order to earn money. What did the DFA do with my original birth certificate record? Throw it away or incinerated it? And that was only eight years ago.
Shouldn't government agencies be able to cross-check records with one another? Why does the Philippine Government have to be so backward in the age when people post Instragram photos regularly? Isn't it enough that the government earns so much on taxation - that there's plenty of opportunities for corrupt officials to pocket huge amounts? 950 pesos to get DFA approval to travel abroad. 315 pesos to get PSA's approval for whatever you are applying for - job, passport, etc. Plus fees for the government I.D. which you will need as an additional requirement. It's like each agency is trying to make money by being a blocker for whatever you are applying for.
I pity the new graduates and people who are applying for a job for the first time. You haven't even started earning an income, and the government is already milking you for money. Why does a printed document have to cost 315 pesos when a photocopy only costs 50 centavos. Same thing with a driver's license - 350 for an I.D. that can't even be supplied on time. Then there's NBI, BIR, SSS, Philhealth, Pagibig... the list goes on and on with every agency wanting to take money out of your pocket.
If government agencies would just coordinate with one another, there wouldn't be a need to get a birth certificate and photocopies of a government I.D. All one would do is give one's name and an inter-connected network of government agencies should be able to check your birth certificate, current valid government issued I.D., and personal information. Why fill out an online sheet if Step 3 at the DFA still requires the DFA personnel to re-enter your personal details. Why re-input your fingerprints if the NBI already does this? Why re-enter your signature if the PRC, and any other government I.D. you apply for requires this?
The government should help ease the burden of it's citizens, not make their lives more miserable. There is a lot of redundancy in government agencies, because quite frankly, that is the only way the government can create jobs sometimes. But if majority of the jobs that government provides are careers as pencil pushers and gatekeepers, you can't expect this country to develop innovative minds that are focused on value creation.
Cost of Applying for a Passport as of this writing:
Birth Certificate ------ 315 pesos
Regular Passport ----- 950 pesos (15 working days wait period)
-------------------------------------
Total Cost ------------ 1265 pesos
Optional Additional Costs
Courier delivery ------ 150 pesos (Passport delivered at your doorstep)
Express Passport ----- 250 pesos (Additional charge to cut down waiting period to 7 working days)
-------------------------------------
Total Cost ------------ 1665 pesos
Isn't it enough that we pay our taxes when it is automatically deducted from our payslips and from the goods and services we avail of? A government can become too greedy in that it has to make it's services a money-making scheme, too. A government should support its citizens and help them become productive. A productive citizen will be able to generate income that can be used to pay for taxes. A printed piece of paper shouldn't cost 315 pesos when printing out a page from a computer shop is only 25 pesos and sending it by courier is 150 pesos. A photocopier inside a government agency should not charge 3 pesos per page of a xeroxed document when a regular photocopier would only charge 0.5 pesos. And an organization should not be charging 1720 pesos for a certificate of good standing needed to apply for a PRC license. (Yes, granted that the organization says that the certificate of good standing is only 20 pesos, but you can't avail of it without paying for their membership fee.) Then take into account the monthly penalties for not renewing the PRC license when the government isn't penalized at all for not issuing driver's licenses and car plates on time.
I've probably gone off-topic, but I'm just dissatisfied with the way our government is being run despite the promised change that should have come.
Then, I realized that the 50 people were all mixtures of new applicants, renewals, and perhaps other reasons for having an appointment with the DFA. It would have been nice if they separated renewals from new applicants. That is probably one step in streamlining the process.
Second, there should probably be an OIC checking if the applicant has all the necessary requirements before telling the applicant to wait in line. After waiting for about 45 minutes, and finally being let inside the DFA processing area, the checker who was receiving photocopies of I.D.s told me that they needed my birth certificate. I presented them with the original NSO issued birth certificate, but they said it has to be the green one issued by the PSA. I know that in a bureaucratic setting, workers are probably just concerned with following the rules so that they don't get in trouble with their superiors. But I cannot understand why renewing a passport requires a birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) when I already have an old birth certificate issued by the NSO. And my date of birth and place of birth has already been established in my old passport which I applied for in 2009. (Renewals, in my opinion, should no longer require a birth certificate. And as far as the PSA is concerned, all they do is enlarge the original Birth Certificate. So if the original details on the birth certificate are not clear, you practically have a useless document. If they are going to charge 315 pesos for the document, then they should at least have all the information on the original document printed and verified along with the birth certificate they send to the person so that the DFA cannot say that some of the fields are unclear. But again, instead of requiring a birth certificate, the DFA should just be able to verify a person's date of birth and place of birth from the PSA since these are the only fields required for a passport.)
Also, I cannot understand why the DFA has to keep the original birth certificate? That costs 315 pesos to apply for online and will take between 3 to 5 working days to arrive by courier after payment has been made. Is the PSA without a government budget that they need to partner with the DFA in order to earn money. What did the DFA do with my original birth certificate record? Throw it away or incinerated it? And that was only eight years ago.
Shouldn't government agencies be able to cross-check records with one another? Why does the Philippine Government have to be so backward in the age when people post Instragram photos regularly? Isn't it enough that the government earns so much on taxation - that there's plenty of opportunities for corrupt officials to pocket huge amounts? 950 pesos to get DFA approval to travel abroad. 315 pesos to get PSA's approval for whatever you are applying for - job, passport, etc. Plus fees for the government I.D. which you will need as an additional requirement. It's like each agency is trying to make money by being a blocker for whatever you are applying for.
I pity the new graduates and people who are applying for a job for the first time. You haven't even started earning an income, and the government is already milking you for money. Why does a printed document have to cost 315 pesos when a photocopy only costs 50 centavos. Same thing with a driver's license - 350 for an I.D. that can't even be supplied on time. Then there's NBI, BIR, SSS, Philhealth, Pagibig... the list goes on and on with every agency wanting to take money out of your pocket.
If government agencies would just coordinate with one another, there wouldn't be a need to get a birth certificate and photocopies of a government I.D. All one would do is give one's name and an inter-connected network of government agencies should be able to check your birth certificate, current valid government issued I.D., and personal information. Why fill out an online sheet if Step 3 at the DFA still requires the DFA personnel to re-enter your personal details. Why re-input your fingerprints if the NBI already does this? Why re-enter your signature if the PRC, and any other government I.D. you apply for requires this?
The government should help ease the burden of it's citizens, not make their lives more miserable. There is a lot of redundancy in government agencies, because quite frankly, that is the only way the government can create jobs sometimes. But if majority of the jobs that government provides are careers as pencil pushers and gatekeepers, you can't expect this country to develop innovative minds that are focused on value creation.
Cost of Applying for a Passport as of this writing:
Birth Certificate ------ 315 pesos
Regular Passport ----- 950 pesos (15 working days wait period)
-------------------------------------
Total Cost ------------ 1265 pesos
Optional Additional Costs
Courier delivery ------ 150 pesos (Passport delivered at your doorstep)
Express Passport ----- 250 pesos (Additional charge to cut down waiting period to 7 working days)
-------------------------------------
Total Cost ------------ 1665 pesos
Isn't it enough that we pay our taxes when it is automatically deducted from our payslips and from the goods and services we avail of? A government can become too greedy in that it has to make it's services a money-making scheme, too. A government should support its citizens and help them become productive. A productive citizen will be able to generate income that can be used to pay for taxes. A printed piece of paper shouldn't cost 315 pesos when printing out a page from a computer shop is only 25 pesos and sending it by courier is 150 pesos. A photocopier inside a government agency should not charge 3 pesos per page of a xeroxed document when a regular photocopier would only charge 0.5 pesos. And an organization should not be charging 1720 pesos for a certificate of good standing needed to apply for a PRC license. (Yes, granted that the organization says that the certificate of good standing is only 20 pesos, but you can't avail of it without paying for their membership fee.) Then take into account the monthly penalties for not renewing the PRC license when the government isn't penalized at all for not issuing driver's licenses and car plates on time.
I've probably gone off-topic, but I'm just dissatisfied with the way our government is being run despite the promised change that should have come.
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