A Philippine passport is a document issued by the Government of the Philippines to citizens of the Republic of the Philippines requesting other governments to allow them to pass safely and freely. It is both a travel document and a national identity document that enables the bearer to travel internationally. [1]
Passport offices in the Philippines are under the jurisdiction of the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). These Field Offices of the DFA-OCA, also known as Passport Extension Offices and officially as DFA Consular Offices, process passport applications in select regional shopping malls across the country. [2] In addition to the issuance of Philippine passports, these offices also provide authentification services, verification of consular record documents, accept applications for delayed registration of report of birth, marriage or death abroad and other civil registry documents in coordination with relevant Philippine Foreign Service posts, as well as provide assistance-to-nationals (ATN) services to Filipinos. [3]
The first mall-based passport office opened in February 2012 at Pacific Mall Mandaue in Mandaue. This was followed by Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando, Pampanga and Marquee Mall in Angeles City which opened in June and July 2012, respectively. [4] In Metro Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs opened its first passport office at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong in August 2012. [5]
Passport offices in the country were categorized as either Satellite Offices (SO) within Metro Manila or Regional Consular Offices (RCO) in other regions. In 2017, through Executive Order No. 45, these passport offices were reorganized under the supervision of the Assistant Secretary of the DFA-OCA and officially renamed as DFA Consular Offices (CO). [6] Each passport office is now headed by a Philippine Foreign Service Officer (FSO) and a Philippine Foreign Service Staff Officer (FSSO). [3]
As of March 2019, the Office of Consular Affairs operates 30 mall-based DFA COs in major cities and regional centers, including six in the capital region. [7]
Passport office | City/Municipality | Province/Region | Location |
---|---|---|---|
DFA CO Angeles | Angeles City | Pampanga | SM City Clark |
DFA CO Antipolo | Antipolo | Rizal | SM Cherry Antipolo |
DFA CO Bacolod | Bacolod | Negros Occidental | Robinsons Bacolod |
DFA CO Baguio | Baguio | Benguet | SM City Baguio |
DFA CO Butuan | Butuan | Agusan del Norte | Robinsons Butuan |
DFA CO Cagayan de Oro | Cagayan de Oro | Misamis Oriental | Centrio |
DFA CO Calasiao | Calasiao | Pangasinan | Robinsons Pangasinan |
DFA CO Clarin/Ozamis | Clarin | Misamis Occidental | Clarin Town Center |
DFA CO Cebu | Mandaue | Cebu | Pacific Mall Mandaue |
DFA CO Cotabato | Cotabato City | Maguindanao | Mall of Alnor |
DFA CO Dasmariñas | Dasmariñas | Cavite | SM City Dasmariñas |
DFA CO Davao | Davao City | Davao del Sur | SM City Davao |
DFA CO Dumaguete | Dumaguete | Negros Oriental | Robinsons Dumaguete |
DFA CO General Santos | General Santos | South Cotabato | Robinsons General Santos |
DFA CO Ilocos Norte | San Nicolas | Ilocos Norte | Robinsons Ilocos |
DFA CO Iloilo | Iloilo City | Iloilo | Robinsons Iloilo |
DFA CO La Union | San Fernando | La Union | Manna Mall |
DFA CO Legazpi | Legazpi | Albay | Pacific Mall Legazpi |
DFA CO Lipa | Lipa | Batangas | Robinsons Lipa |
DFA CO Lucena | Lucena | Quezon | Pacific Mall Lucena |
DFA CO Malolos | Malolos | Bulacan | Malolos Central Transport Terminal and Commercial Hub by Xentro Mall |
DFA CO NCR-Central | Pasig City | Metro Manila | Robinsons Galleria |
DFA CO NCR-East | Mandaluyong | Metro Manila | SM Megamall |
DFA CO NCR-North | Quezon City | Metro Manila | Robinsons Novaliches |
DFA CO NCR-Northeast | Quezon City | Metro Manila | Ali Mall |
DFA CO NCR-South | Muntinlupa | Metro Manila | Alabang Town Center |
DFA CO NCR-West | Manila | Metro Manila | SM City Manila |
DFA CO Pampanga | San Fernando | Pampanga | Robinsons Starmills |
DFA CO Puerto Princesa | Puerto Princesa | Palawan | Robinsons Palawan |
DFA CO San Nicolas | San Nicolas | Ilocos Norte | Robinsons Ilocos |
DFA CO San Pablo | San Pablo | Laguna | SM City San Pablo |
DFA CO Santiago | Santiago | Isabela | Robinsons Santiago |
DFA CO Tacloban | Tacloban | Leyte | Robinsons North Tacloban |
DFA CO Tagum | Tagum | Davao del Norte | Mall of Tagum |
DFA CO Tuguegarao | Tuguegarao | Cagayan | City Hall Regional Government Center |
DFA CO Zamboanga | Zamboanga City | Zamboanga del Sur | Go-Velayo Building, Veterans Avenue |
Macapagal Boulevard, also known as President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and Macapagal Avenue, is an eight-lane road in Metro Manila, Philippines, running parallel to Roxas Boulevard from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay to Asia World City in Parañaque. It was named after former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal. This road has three major bridges, crossing the 'channels', of which the largest is the Libertad Channel, where the Libertad Water Pumping Station is situated. Thanks to intersection reconfiguring around EDSA to relieve traffic, Macapagal Boulevard is now often used to access the SM Mall of Asia to the north and Cavite to the south. It is also the main major road in Metro Manila's reclamation area called Bay City.
SM Megamall, is the third largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the thirteenth largest in the world that is developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located in EDSA corner Doña Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall occupies a land area of approximately 10 hectares and has a total floor area of 474,000 square meters (5,100,000 sq ft). The mall has a maximum capacity of 4 million people.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked to contribute to the enhancement of national security, protection of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty, to participate in the national endeavor of sustaining development and enhancing the Philippines' competitive edge, to protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos overseas and to mobilize them as partners in national development, to project a positive image of the Philippines, and to increase international understanding of Philippine culture for mutually-beneficial relations with other countries.
A Philippine passport is both a travel document and a primary national identity document issued to citizens of the Philippines. It is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Philippine diplomatic missions abroad, with certain exceptions.
SM City Baguio is the 23rd largest shopping mall in the Philippines. At a floor area of 176,073 m2 (1,895,230 sq ft), it is the largest shopping mall in the North Luzon Region. The entire SM City Baguio complex stands on a land area of 80,000 m2 (860,000 sq ft) on Luneta Hill on top of Session Road overlooking historic Burnham Park and opposite Baguio's City Hall which is situated on a northern hill.
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Robinsons Galleria, is a mixed-use complex and shopping mall located at EDSA corner Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City, just near SM Megamall. The mall is owned by Robinsons Malls, and it is their flagship mall. It is the 1st Robinsons Mall to bear the Galleria branding. It was built on January 12, 1990, with a total gross floor area of approximately 216,000 m2 (2,330,000 sq ft).
MarQuee Mall is a shopping mall owned and operated by the North Beacon Commercial Corporation, a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Land. It is located in Barangay Pulung Maragul, Angeles City, Philippines. The mall has a land area of 9.3 hectares and a gross floor area of 140,000 square meters (1,500,000 sq ft).
Robinsons Dumaguete, is a shopping mall located in Dumaguete, Philippines. It has a total gross floor area of over 45,000 m2 (480,000 sq ft) and is located on almost 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft) of land area. It is the first and largest full-service shopping mall in Negros Oriental and is a major component of the Dumaguete Business Park and IT Plaza in Brgy. Calindagan. It features an activity center, two atria, and an al fresco dining area. The mall brings outlet store brands such as Uniqlo, GUESS, Bench, Daiso Japan, Dumaguete famous Sans Rival shop, Hukad by Golden Cowrie, KFC, Shakey's, and iStore among others.
Alabang Town Center is a shopping lifestyle center located south of Metro Manila, located next to gated residential communities and bustling business developments. It is owned by Ayala Malls and is considered one of the oldest shopping malls owned and operated by Ayala Malls since it opened in 1982.
SM City San Pablo is the 38th shopping mall owned by SM Prime Holdings. It is the 2nd SM Supermall in the province of Laguna. It is located at the entrance of Riverina Residential and Commercial Estates in Maharlika Highway, Barangay San Rafael, San Pablo, Laguna and has a gross floor area of 59,776 square meters (643,420 sq ft).
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