Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to look into reports that some travel agencies are selling January appointment slots for as high as PhP4,000.
The DFA has come under heavy fire from Filipinos renewing their passports because of difficulties getting appointment through the agency’s online facilities.
The DFA’s Facebook page has been flooded with complaints from people unable to get appointments earlier than March.
DFA assistant secretary Frank Cimafranca advised those renewing their passports “not to patronize these travel agencies as their privilege has been revoked.”
“They have no more facility to lodge applications,” he said.
Some syndicates take advantage of the inability of the DFA to meet the demand for passports.
But Castelo stressed that simply dismissing the complaints is not enough as there could be some syndicates taking advantage of the inability of the DFA to meet the demand for passports, a concern expressed by Netizens who could not get appointments and who have been offered “priority appointment dates” by unnamed accredited travel agencies.
“I will be asking the DFA for a report to see if there’s a need for the House to investigate this issue,” Castelo said.