The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday appealed to the public “not to book an appointment if it’s not urgent” as the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) releases slots on a staggered basis.

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DFA said it made available slots for July to September 2018 on May 2, with the exception of slots at DFA Aseana in Parañaque City.

But according to Assistant Secretary Frank Cimafranca, only 20 percent of total number of slots for the third quarter of 2018 were released.

“It is a policy of DFA-OCA to release appointment slots on a staggered basis, to minimize the hijacking of slots by unscrupulous individuals,” Cimafranca said in response to inquiries from INQUIRER.net.

“From previous experience, available appointment slots were all gone less than two hours after they were opened to the public.”

DFA-OCA vowed to continue to open appointment slots for the months of May and June 2018.

“Secretary Cayetano’s objective is to address the DFA’s passport service through additional consular offices nationwide, and the conduct of more Passport on Wheels and Mobile Passport Service missions,” he said.

DFA recently announced that two new mall-based passport offices will open in Ilocos Norte and Isabela this May.

It also said that two more POW vans will be launched this month, which will double the program’s capacity from 2000 to 4000 passport applications.

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