PARAÑAQUE CITY, (PIA) --  The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced today that it opened five (5) special off-site locations in the National Capital Region (NCR) to provide an additional 177,500 passport appointment slots to the public in the NCR Plus area.

Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Brigido J. Dulay announced that the DFA Temporary Offsite Passport Services (TOPS) offices will open at SM Mall of Asia, SM City North Edsa, SM Aura, Robinsons Place Las Piñas, and Robinsons Place Magnolia.

“The DFA is aware of the demand for passport appointment slots during the pandemic and so we prepared a temporary expansion of our consular operations in off-site locations to address this need while maintaining health and safety protocols”, Undersecretary Dulay said.

Appointment slots for all of these five (5) TOPS may be accessed via the DFA’s online appointment system website www.passport.gov.ph, he added.

Each TOPS site has the capacity to receive 500 appointments daily and will operate from Mondays to Saturdays. With all sites operating at full capacity, a total of 177,500 additional passport appointment slots have become available until the end of September on the DFA’s online appointment system on top of the regular appointment slots at the Department’s ASEANA office and its consular offices all over the country. 

Undersecretary Dulay also announced that TOPS offices are open to Courtesy Lane clients such as OFWs with valid or existing contracts, senior citizens, pregnant applicants, children below 7 years old, persons with disabilities, and solo parents. Alternatively, Courtesy Lane clients can likewise access this facility by sending an email to oca.cl@dfa.gov.ph

The DFA will open TOPS sites in other regions with a significant demand for passport appointments, according to Undersecretary Dulay. He said that with all these additional appointment slots being created, applicants should avoid patronizing enterprising groups or individuals selling passport appointment slots or offering appointment-setting assistance for a fee.

“We advise applicants to avoid falling prey to online fraudsters and scammers who are taking advantage of the situation by charging hefty fees,” Undersecretary Dulay said.

He added that passport appointment slots are free of charge and are only available through the DFA’s official website.  (DFA/PIA-NCR)