CITY OF SAN FERNANDO– In a nationwide move to establish satellites in air-conditioned malls closer to the people, Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario will lead today (May 29) the opening of another office of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Robinson’s mall along the North Luzon Express-way (NLEX) in this capital city.
Elmer Cato, DFA special assistant for special projects, told Punto! that the satellite office at Robinson’s here is one of the 16 such offices slated to be established in malls in the provinces, a plan that is expected to save the DFA some P1.04 billion in operational expenses in the next 10 years.
Cato said the new office covers at least 800 square meters on the second floor of Robinson’s, following the closure of the cramped DFA office at a bus terminal in Barangay Magliman here, where about 1,000 folk from various provinces apply for or renew passports daily.
The DFA office here would be the second to open in a provincial mall, following one that was opened earlier this year in Gaisano mall in Mandaue City in Cebu, he noted.
Cato said that by next month, another DFA satellite office would open on the third floor of Marquee Mall in Angeles City, also conveniently located along the NLEX.
He said the establishment of the DFA offices in malls in various regions is part of Pres. Aquino’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The DFA has already signed such PPP contracts that will pave the way for the establishments of more consular offices in SM, Robinson’s, Ayala, and Gaisano malls.
“When the next consular office at Marquee mall opens in Angeles, we will shut down our satellite office at Clark Freeport to move its services to the mall,” Cato also said.
He said the PPP contracts would pave the way for the establishment of more consular offices in Robinson’s malls in Galeria in Quezon City and in the provincial cities of Laoag, Lipa, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Tacloban, and General Santos.
In SM malls, consular offices are also to be established in Manila, Mandaluyong, Baguio, and Batangas.
The consular office to open next month at Marquee Mall would be the only mall so far under the Ayala group of companies to host the DFA, Cato said.
He estimated that daily, some 10,000 passport applicants from provinces north of Metro Manila troop to DFA offices for new passports or passport renewals.
Cato said the transfer of DFA satellite offices to first-class facilities in shopping malls underscores the commitment of the DFA to provide the public not only with more efficient service, but also with more comfortable and accessible venues.
He said that more DFA satellite offices in the provinces would decongest the daily crowd in the DFA in Manila.
Cato said the DFA has also relaxed its attire requirements for those seeking passports at its satellite offices.
“Of course we don’t expect people to be wearing slippers and sandals, but any other decent attire will do,” he said.
