Renewal of Philippine Passport

My passport will expire on April but I decided to renew it early since I have the time. The very essential step in renewing your passport is to set an appointment via DFA Passport Appointment System. You need to fill up the information about yourself and select your preferred date and time on the available schedule given. An email will be sent to you and you need to confirm it within 24 hours to get your E-Passport Application Form in pdf format. Print out the form in a long bond paper but do not sign it yet, you will not be entertained if you do not have a copy of your appointment.

I scheduled mine today, Feb 06 Mon at 9:00 am and was reminded to be at DFA Aseana by 8:30 am. From our house, I went to Ayala-EDSA and waited for a bus going to Baclaran since it passes by right in front of the DFA building. I wasn't too sure about the traffic jam in EDSA on a Monday morning so I really went out early, I got off the bus at 7:30 am and decided to have breakfast at Mcdo which is just across the DFA. I was crossing the street at 8:00 am.

I entered Gate 2, the guards asked for my E-Passport Application form. Escorts are not allowed from this point. As soon as I entered the gate, there was an appointment verification booth next to it. I showed the form for the personnel to verify the appointment. I then lined up for Door 3, the guard asked me to sit a little while since they are still catering to the 8:00/8:30am appointments. 

The waiting area is made up of tents and plastic benches group by time of appointment. Make sure to sit on the benches for your time of appointment especially if you are scheduled later on the day were there could be more people waiting. After a couple of minutes, the guard signaled that I could enter the building.  No food and drinks allowed inside the building.

So Step 1 begins here: Processing and Documents Evaluation. I prepared my E-Passport Application form, my old passport, a photocopy of the front and last pages of the passport. Since I also wanted to use my married name, I also have NSO Marriage Certificate. There were ample of seats inside and the line moves quickly as there were 23 booths opened for the evaluation. I was already mid-in line when the guard instructed us to stand up and follow him. We went outside Door 3 and were ushered to the adjacent room where there were more booths opened for the evaluation. So my documents were evaluated in no time so how about that, huh? 

If you are using your ID, make sure to have 1 photocopy of it. All requirements will be stapled together, this is where I also signed my application form. You will be asked if you prefer Regular Php 950 or Express Php 1200 processing.  Also, make sure you get your receipt stamped on which kind of processing you prefer because this is needed in the cashier. If the personnel forgets to stamp your receipt, you need to go back. Going back means 50+ more people is going to be served before you, sayang naman! The personnel will also indicate on the receipt the date where your passport will be available. I chose Express, just for kicks since I got excited that I will get it after 10 days. Regular processing takes 20 days. [Update Feb 20, got my passport only today, few days late from the promised date]

I then proceeded to the 2nd Floor through Door 1 and at the right side of the escalator is the Passport Enrollment Center. As you enter, line up to the Cashier window at the the left side. 

No documents needed for this one so just prepare your receipt and your cash. Once paid, get a number and have a seat and wait for your number to appear on the screen which is Step 3.

Make sure to get a number, see the table below the tarpaulin, otherwise you will be waiting for nothing

I was 200++ away from being served but no worries their process seems to be efficient, there are around 70+ booths ready to serve the Filipino people. Hehehe... at least at this government office, my 32% taxes do not go to waste. At this point, here are the papers I have so far

While waiting, a lady announced if anyone wants to have their passport delivered? This is actually Step 4 but optional. I approached her and she issued a receipt of Php 120 for the delivery service. She pointed me to a table near by for my delivery address. After that, I only had to wait a few more minutes when my number was shown on the screen for booth 30.

The personnel encoded my information, took my picture, my thumb prints and digital signature. For my picture -- no earring, no bangs, tuck the hair behind the ears and do not show teeth when smiling. She then printed my information in a pink paper attaching it to the rest of my documents and showed it to me for verification. After checking, I signed it and she said I'm all done. Since I was also done for the passport delivery, I just followed the Exit arrows, they have it pointing up to the Exit gate. I was already outside the building by 9:30am.