The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that their office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA), its Regional Consular Offices (RCOs) and all satellite offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be closed on the following dates in observance of regular holidays and special non-working days in 2013:

Holidays:

• March 28, Thursday – Maundy Thursday
• March 29, Friday- Good Friday
• March 30, Saturday – Holy Saturday
• April 9, Tuesday – The Day of Valor
• May 1, Wednesday – Labor Day
• June 12, Wednesday – Independence Day
• August 9, Friday – Eidul-Fitar
• August 21, Wednesday – Ninoy Aquino Day
• August 26, Monday – National Heroes Day Holiday
• November 1, Friday – All Saints’ Day
• November 2, Saturday – All Souls’ Day
• November 30, Saturday – Bonifacio Day
• December 24, Tuesday – Christmas Eve
• December 25, Wednesday – Christmas Day
• December 30, Monday – Rizal Day
• December 31, Tuesday – New Year’s Eve

No passport appointments and authentication of civil documents will be scheduled on those dates. However, on-call skeletal forces at the Passport Division (including Courtesy Lane and Diplomatic and Official Passports Section) and the Authentication Division shall be designated to answer queries related to passport and authentication of civil documents.

For questions and other concerns, please visit www.dfa.gov.ph or call 556-0000.

Note:  February 25, People Power Anniversary, is observed as a special holiday only for all schools. In this regard, February 25 is a working day for all government agencies.

The tragic hostage-taking incident in Algeria which claimed the lives of six Filipino workers made the relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Algeria worried for the safety of their loved ones.

To appease their anxiety, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced a hotline number where they can call to check the condition of their OFW kin. The hotline number was announced by Foreign Affairs spokesman, Raul Hernandez in his twitter account.

Hernandez said, “The next-of-kin of OFWs in Algeria may call the DFA’s hotline: 09471798064.”

As of this writing, there is no announcement of a deployment ban in Algeria.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced to the public that their consular offices based at shopping malls will no longer be available on Sundays. The government agency decided to stop their operations on Sunday because of the low number of clients who seek their services on this day.

Check out the list of DFA satellite offices that will no longer release passports on Sundays.

• DFA NCR-East (SM Megamall)
• DFA NCR-Central (Robinson’s Galleria)
• DFA NCR-West (SM City Manila)
• RCO Cebu
• RCO Pampanga
• RCO General Santos
• RCO Davao
• RCO Baguio City
• RCO Lipa City
• RCO Angeles City

For further inquiries, one can visit http://www.dfa.gov.ph or call 556-0000.

Apply for a passport or renew your existing passport before the year ends. You can even do it faster if you happen to live near the venues of the November and December mobile passport service of the DFA.

Mobile Passport Service: November

Mobile Passport Service: December

Important: Please note that the above schedule may change anytime without further notice so it is best to confirm the schedule by calling the contact numbers given.

Individuals who wish to apply for a passport through mobile service should also submit the application form and requirements at least two weeks in advance so you should call the numbers above for the submission procedure. The rate for mobile passport is the same as the expedite rate and personal appearance is required.

The DFA office in SM Manila or the DFA-NCR West located at the 5th floor of SM City Manila started its operation this October. It is now ready to offer the following services:

• new passport application,
• passport renewal, and
• authentication services.

It is open from:

Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 pm for both processing and releasing of passports and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm, for passport releasing only.

Set an appointment by logging in to manila.passport.com.ph or calling the DFA appointment hotline at (02) 737-1000.

It will also accept walk-in applicants but it will be limited to the following individuals: senior citizens, infants and minors below one year old, persons with disabilities (PWD), and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).