To the Filipino Community in Fujian and Jiangxi Province:
The Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen would like to inform the public that the following guidelines shall be observed concerning requests for release at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila (DFA Manila) of passports applied for at the Philippine Foreign Service Posts:
1. The request for release in DFA Manila of passports applied abroad shall be allowed for emergency cases only;
2. It shall be made by the applicant in writing, stating the reasons why the passport has to be released at DFA Manila;
3. Meritorious requests will be endorsed by Post to DFA Manila via fax or email, attaching the applicant's written request and copy of his/her application form;
4. The applicant will be advised to proceed to the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) (Attention: Foreign Service Post Coordinating Center (FSPCC), 3rd Floor, ASAENA Business Park, Bradco corner Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, Parañaque City, Telephone No. (+632) 8367759), bringing with him/her a copy of the endorsement of Post, current passport for cancellation by OCA, receipt or claim stub, as soon as he/she arrives in Manila;
5. If the applicant fails to inform Post of his/her intent to claim the passport in DFA Manila and proceeds directly to OCA, he/she shall make a written request citing the reasons for it;
6. If the passport has not yet been transmitted to the Post, FSPCC shall duly inform the Post of the request of the applicant, for coordination and release the passport to the applicant after verification of identity;
7. If the passport has already been transmitted to the Post, FSPCC shall request its return to OCA;
8. If the applicant urgently requires a passport and could not wait for it to be sent back to the Philippines by Post, he/she shall be allowed to apply for a replacement passport subject to cancellation by Post of the previously issued passport and subject to payment of regular passport fees;
9. OCA-FSPCC shall coordinate with OCA-Electronic Passport Center in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that a replacement passport has been applied for, giving details of the passport issued previously such as passport number, date of issue and issuing Post for its cancellation in the ePassport system;
10. In all these cases, the release of the passport shall be made only to the applicant;
11. FSPCC shall instruct the issuing Post to cancel the passport in its possession after the applicant has received the replacement passport.
16 November 2011
