Repost: DFA opens additional 100,000 passport appointment slots

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will open 100,000 slots in its passport appointment system on Thursday, June 14, said Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.

In a press conference, Cayetano said the DFA will open 50,000 slots at noon and 50,000 more slots at 9 pm on Thursday.

 Cayetano added that after this, the DFA will open 10,000 slots from Monday to Saturday, except holidays such as June 15. He said that on these days, the DFA will open 5,000 slots at noon and 5,000 more at 9 pm.

Cayetano announced this in a press conference to launch the DFA’s ePayment Portal.

 

Source: https://www.rappler.com/nation/204905-dfa-passport-appointment-slots-june-2018?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nation

 

Nigeria punishes 13 Filipinos for oil theft in delta

ABUJA, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Thirteen Filipinos were sentenced to five years in jail or a $6,770 fine on Friday after pleading guilty to handling oil products suspected to have been stolen in the Niger Delta.

The military arrested them in November after intercepting a vessel suspected of carrying 12,000 tonnes of stolen crude oil in the delta, the heart of Nigeria’s oil sector.

Nigeria is the world’s eighth biggest exporter of crude oil but thieves take a sizeable proportion of its output by drilling into pipelines or hijacking barges loaded with oil, theft known locally as “bunkering”.

“The accused persons, who initially pleaded not guilty on arraignment, later changed their plea and they were found guilty based on their plea,” said a spokesman for Nigeria’s anti- corruption police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Some estimates say 100,000 barrels of crude are stolen from the Niger Delta each day, about five percent of the country’s production and equivalent to around $4 million daily or $1.5 billion a year at current prices.

It is shipped out of Nigeria and sold on the international market. Human Rights Watch has put the amount stolen at two or three times that level.

Last week, the military impounded 22 barges of stolen crude oil in the delta in what it said was its biggest seizure for months. (Reporting by Randy Fabi, edited by Richard Meares)

—

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKLK13877320090220

Aspiring OFWs being forced to pay OAV registration

02/11/2009 | 07:25 PM

MANILA, Philippines – The biggest migrants’ advocacy group in the country accused the Philippine government of milking outbound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by forcing them to register for the overseas absentee voting (OAV) prior to their departure.

Migrante International chairperson Gary Martinez told GMANews.TV on Wednesday that they have been receiving complaints from OFWs of the “additional burden” imposed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Citing reports reaching him, Martinez said aspiring OFWs who are applying for passports are asked to pay P75 for the OAV fee.

“It could reach up to P250 on weekends,” Martinez added.

In an earlier statement, Migrante International reiterated that under the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, “the government has the duty to issue passport or any travel document to any citizen of the Philippines or individual who complies with the requirement of this act.”

“Clearly, this government is twisting the thousands of Filipinos who wish to escape grinding poverty here in the country by finding jobs abroad by the arm with this questionable requirement,” Martinez added.

DFA spokesperson Bayani Mangibin denied that the OAV registration was being made a “prerequisite” for those applying for passports.

“We are just inviting them to exercise their right to register and vote, that’s all. But we cannot force them. That’s not our policy,” Mangibin told GMANews.TV.

Mangibin did not mention anything about the alleged fees.

As stated in Section 5 of the law, applicants for a Philippine passport are required to secure the following documents: duly accomplished application form and photographs of applicant; birth certificate; marriage certificate; naturalization certificate (for naturalized citizens); for minors, affidavit of consent from a parent; a copy of the court order of adoption for adopted persons and; travel authority for government employees.
Mangibin countered the allegations, stressing that some groups exaggerate details and misconstrue facts to cast blame on the government.

“Minsan ina-angguluhan na lang para lumabas nga na ganoon [Sometimes they cast a different light on the matter],” he added.

The DFA has formally launched on Wednesday the OAV registration booth for outbound Filipino workers and immigrants at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Mangibin assured that the registration process would only take a few minutes and would not be an added burden to OFWs.

The OAV booth is located at the OFW lounge in NAIA and would be open until August 31. [Click here for additional information] – Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV