It’s Not Fun to Get a Philippine Passport
Posted by BongV on Jan 24, 2013 in Featured, Government | 0 comments
Aquino’s media handlers are
trying to milk the pathetic four million visitor arrivals in 2012 to
the max. However, no one’s buying that bull because of the obvious fact
that neighboring countries Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and
Vietnam had more visitors many times over.
How can the Philippines get
more visitor arrivals when they not only treat foreign guests like dung –
but treat their very own citizens like dung as well. C’mon now – what
chance of excellent treatment will guests get really when you can’t even
treat your own in a decent manner.
Foreign visitors are given a run for their money when visiting the Philippines – hospitality my arse
Foreign nationals who are
traveling to the Philippines for business and tourism purposes are
allowed to enter the Philippines without visas for a stay not exceeding
twenty-one (21) days, provided they hold valid tickets for their return
journey to port of origin or next port of destination and their
passports are valid for a period of at least six (6) months beyond the
period of stay. All tourists wishing to stay longer than 21 days need a
visa. Single entry visas are good for 59 days (2 months) from date of
issue.
Frankly, 3 weeks in the
Philippines is just enough for a foreign visitor to realize that they
made a big mistake in coming to the Philippines. You can only take so
much of the horrors of going through the stinking airports, the
extortionist taxicab drivers, the congested roads, the polluted rivers,
the prostitute-laden bars, the beggar-filled streets, the unsanitary
restaurants, the groping by mall security guards, the 12% VAT, the
snail-paced bureaucracy – and that’s if you don’t get abducted by a
kidnap for ransom gang or that’s in cahoot with either the cops or the
military – or worse, snatched by commies.
And if you think foreign guests have it bad – Filipino nationals get a far worse treatment.
The Passport Application Time Warp
Filipinos are know for a
lackadaisical attitude towards meeting deadlines. And if they do decide
to set deadlines, the waiting time is unbelievably long because
Filipinos take their time to gossip and linger along, with work squeezed
in between. This attitude is most exemplified in the renewal of
Philippine passports.
It
used to be that getting Philippine passports was such a breeze – give
it 5 to six days max – and in some instances, just overnight.
I still recall when I would
show up in the DFA office with my paperwork and get my passport the
following day. I also still recall when overseas, I can just mail my
passport to the DFA and have it renewed. Today, whether you are in the
Philippines or overseas, getting a passport is such a pain in the neck.
If
you are in the Philippines right now, it will take 3 weeks for a
passport to be issued. Though recently it can take longer because the
BSP has run out of paper on which to print passports. For crying out
loud, the BSP collects billions of dollars from OFW remittances and it
can’t even get the supply of passport paper right.
If
you are outside the Philippines, particularly if in the US, it will
take 6 to 8 weeks for a passport to be issued. Not only that – if you
are not in a state close to the Philippine embassy, you will have to
take time off of work and take a plane to make a personal appearance at
the embassy. The $60 passport renewal fee isn’t much – but the plane
ticket will cost you more than $200 – then there’s the time off from
work, easily another $200 worth of time taken from your paid time off
(PTO) – which brings it up to roughly $500 after adding meals and gas to
and from the airport.
As
a Filipino national and expat, how in the world can I be motivated to
visit the Philippines when the mere act of getting a passport is already
an absolute pain in the neck?
Misplaced Priorities
According
to the Philippine embassy, it takes 6 to 8 weeks because the passport
has to be sent back to the Philippines where the passport making machine
is situated. The Fil-am community has asked why isn’t there a passport
making machine in the Philippine embassy in Washington DC. The answer
has been that the machine is expensive and costs a million bucks.
A
total of US$17.348 Billion were remitted by OFW’s all over the world in
2009; those from the U.S. remitted US$7.323 Billion. The Philippine
government can lend $1B to the EU but it can’t afford to purchase a $1M
passport making machine for OFWs?
Talk about misplaced priorities. What else is new?
OT: February is just around the corner
Sooner
or later, something’s gotta give. Seriously, the Philippines needs an
honest-to-goodness revolution that will serve as a reset button and
sweeps this plundering thugs masquerading as lawmakers. Filipinos are
better off with less government – one that limits the size of
government, keeps markets open so that consumers have freedom of choice,
keeps taxes low and spends public money only for the purpose of
protecting individuals from criminals and foreign threats and a justice
system for a non-violent resolution of disputes.
With
the anniversary of the faux EDSA revolution coming soon, now will be a
good time as any to expose the fraud and work towards a successful
completion of the hijacked 1896 Philippine Revolution – and get a
Philippine version of the Polish shock therapy off the ground.
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