the DFA experience.
at my best friend's urging, i found myself renewing my passport for no reason at all. the possibility of me going abroad either for work or leisure seems to be a far fetched thing but i gave in after a detailed daydream sequence that involved hk disneyland and universal studios sentosa. damn. so i decided to try this new thing they call Philippine Passport Express.
anyway, since i'm only renewing, not a lot of requirements were needed. in my case, just 3 new passport photos. i had them taken days before (and this was during a really stressful day that involved several clinics and a sonogram) which looked like i was dragged to hell (READ: haggard). FYI: you are not allowed to smile in your passport photo. and you should be wearing a collared shirt. the background is royal blue. and your hair should be tucked behind your ears so they would show in the picture. pretty interesting. i had my photo taken at Tronix megamall branch. they're really helpful by the way. and nice enough to lend me a blazer.
i called (02) 567-1111 first for instructions. you cannot just proceed to your nearest LBC branch and ask them for the passport form. you really have to call since LBC employees don't know squat about the requirements. this is true because when i got too lazy (again) to look at my notes and just asked the LBC person how many i.d. pictures i needed to submit, he just stared at me for like 3 seconds before uttering "Ano po ba sabi sa inyo, ma'am?". woops. hahaha. anyway, i had to fill out a couple of forms. paid the fee (Php1,300.00 wtf moment) and was told to wait for my personal appearance details which will be sent to me via text. this was tuesday last week.
around friday morning, i received a text message regarding my appearance schedule at the Department of Foreign Affairs. they said i could go either saturday or monday. i chose today. then of course they had to tell me i should be there at 7:30AM. eeek.
i wasn't able to bring my camera for 2 reasons:
1. i forgot
and
2. yes, i am that stupid.
after consulting google and my mom, i was able to get some decent directions. first was a bus ride to baclaran (via edsa). i told the conductor about DFA, he was pretty helpful . not so sure what street i got off, but there were a couple of "barkers" there calling out "DFA" and i figured i should just trust them. i rode a jeepney (f. harrison i think) and got off at the corner of Asian Maritime something. then i had to walk about a block until i saw the DFA entrance. (right side). there were a lot of people offering photo services and ballpens and stuff. i pretended to be deaf (my best friend was once a victim of these people) . when i reached the entrance, i just told the guard that i needed to get to the basketball court and showed her my LBC slip. the basketball court was a few steps from the building. (FYI, 2GO and other couriers also offer the passport service thing). the LBC booth was easy enough to locate. the lady there gave me instructions and escorted me directly to the personal appearance department. my form was already there, i just needed to sign and put my thumbprint. after wards, i was told i can go home.
i was there for like...less than 10minutes. sweet.
the commute back home was a total nightmare because it's already rush hour. but hey, i survived! my new machine readable passport will be delivered to my house in 7 working days.
not bad, eh?
anyway, since i'm only renewing, not a lot of requirements were needed. in my case, just 3 new passport photos. i had them taken days before (and this was during a really stressful day that involved several clinics and a sonogram) which looked like i was dragged to hell (READ: haggard). FYI: you are not allowed to smile in your passport photo. and you should be wearing a collared shirt. the background is royal blue. and your hair should be tucked behind your ears so they would show in the picture. pretty interesting. i had my photo taken at Tronix megamall branch. they're really helpful by the way. and nice enough to lend me a blazer.
i called (02) 567-1111 first for instructions. you cannot just proceed to your nearest LBC branch and ask them for the passport form. you really have to call since LBC employees don't know squat about the requirements. this is true because when i got too lazy (again) to look at my notes and just asked the LBC person how many i.d. pictures i needed to submit, he just stared at me for like 3 seconds before uttering "Ano po ba sabi sa inyo, ma'am?". woops. hahaha. anyway, i had to fill out a couple of forms. paid the fee (Php1,300.00 wtf moment) and was told to wait for my personal appearance details which will be sent to me via text. this was tuesday last week.
around friday morning, i received a text message regarding my appearance schedule at the Department of Foreign Affairs. they said i could go either saturday or monday. i chose today. then of course they had to tell me i should be there at 7:30AM. eeek.
i wasn't able to bring my camera for 2 reasons:
1. i forgot
and
2. yes, i am that stupid.
after consulting google and my mom, i was able to get some decent directions. first was a bus ride to baclaran (via edsa). i told the conductor about DFA, he was pretty helpful . not so sure what street i got off, but there were a couple of "barkers" there calling out "DFA" and i figured i should just trust them. i rode a jeepney (f. harrison i think) and got off at the corner of Asian Maritime something. then i had to walk about a block until i saw the DFA entrance. (right side). there were a lot of people offering photo services and ballpens and stuff. i pretended to be deaf (my best friend was once a victim of these people) . when i reached the entrance, i just told the guard that i needed to get to the basketball court and showed her my LBC slip. the basketball court was a few steps from the building. (FYI, 2GO and other couriers also offer the passport service thing). the LBC booth was easy enough to locate. the lady there gave me instructions and escorted me directly to the personal appearance department. my form was already there, i just needed to sign and put my thumbprint. after wards, i was told i can go home.
i was there for like...less than 10minutes. sweet.
the commute back home was a total nightmare because it's already rush hour. but hey, i survived! my new machine readable passport will be delivered to my house in 7 working days.
not bad, eh?
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