THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday suspended walk-in application for apostille services at its Parañaque office due to the influx of applicants.
Walk-in service would resume on March 24, it said in an advisory, noting that the applicant quota at Aseana is 300 a day. The agency said it was investigating the incident.
Hundreds of applicants started forming long lines outside the DFA Office of Consular Affairs at the Aseana Business Park on Tuesday night to have their documents processed for overseas job applications, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. tweeted on Wednesday.
But the agency reminded the applicants that there was no need for them to line up late at night, noting that applicants are only admitted to the building starting at 7 a.m. It also advised applicants to consider having their documents processed at other DFA offices.
Mr. Locsin ruled out sabotage after 800 apostille applicants suddenly appeared at the department’s consular affairs office in Aseana Business Park, Parañaque City. “Suddenly in the night, 800 applicants for apostille appeared in Aseana,” he said.
“DFA mobilized to care and feed them,” he said. “I ordered the deployment of diplomatic staff to man the desks completely in 14-hour shifts.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan