DFA warns public on passport ‘fixers’
By Michaela P. del Callar 08/12/2011Passport fixers continue to thrive and victimize Filipino applicants despite increased government efforts to curtail this illegal trade, the Department of Foreign Affairs admitted yesterday.
Even if the passport section has moved to a new building along Macapagal Avenue in Paranaque City from the DFA’s head office in Pasay City, the DFA said there are still fixers who have been capitalizing on their knowledge of the application procedures to lure first-time applicants to take an easier and hassle-free route in filing their applications but for an exorbitant fee.
Victims are mostly first-timers from the provinces or newly arrived overseas Filipino workers. Fixers usually charge between P2,500 and P15,000 with a promise of expediting the application procedure. The DFA charges P950 for regular processing and P1,200 for rush processing of e-passports.
“In view of these illegal activities carried out by these unscrupulous individuals, the DFA strongly advises the public not to deal or transact any business with these people,” a department notice said..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110812met1.html
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