By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East have expressed concern over the issuance of an estimated 10,000 defective e-passports.
Last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced it was offering to replace damaged e-passports.
In a statement, the DFA urged holders of e-passports with serial numbers EB0000001 to EB1267350 with detached covers to visit its satellite offices and present their passports.
The assistance includes replacement with pay if the majority of the pages have been used and the e-passport’s condition is the result of wear and tear, and if the holder of the e-passport refuses to surrender the same to the Department.
On the other hand, the replacement will be free-of-charge if the applicant fills up the required replacement forms; if upon investigation the e-passport is deemed substandard; and if the holder surrenders the e-passport to the Department.
To obtain assistance, holders of e-passports must satisfy all the said conditions.
Recipients of defective e-passports said the situation would disrupt their travel plans and force them to undergo the bureaucratic hassle of visiting DFA offices to rectify the problem.
Filipino migrants’ rights watchdog Migrante-Middle East (M-ME), in a statement, called on the Philippine government to conduct an investigation.
“It would be prudent on the part of the DFA to conduct an investigation over these substandard passports so that the incident will not be repeated,” said John Leonard Monterona, M-ME regional coordinator.
Monterona, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said if the materials and machines used in passport production passed through a stringent procurement system, “why were defective e-passports issued? It boils down to the quality of service.”
He also suggested that the government procurement system be reviewed and international quality standards be adopted./PN
